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LONDON (Alliance News) - Drinks company Distil PLC on Thursday saw its shares rise in early trade as it said a leading supermarket group has listed its RedLeg Spiced Rum ahead of the Christmas period and as its pretax loss more than halved and its revenue doubled in the first half.
Distil said the unnamed supermarket group has agreed to list RedLeg Spiced Rum in 700 stores ahead of the festive period. It follows the listing of the brand in April by another unnamed grocery chain in the UK and will increase the availability of the drink in the UK.
That news came as Distil said its pretax loss for the six months to the end of September halved to GBP90,000, compared to GBP198,000 a year earlier, thanks to revenue rising to GBP530,000 from GBP280,000.
Over the course of the first half, Distil secured the new RedLeg listings and started its first shipments of Blackwoods Small Batch gin to the US market. It has, however, seen volumes of its Blavod black vodka brand decline in Eastern Europe due to recent adverse currency effects on duty free sales.
"The continued progress in developing our brands in key markets is reflected in a pleasing set of first half results. Revenue growth is being supported by increased investment in brand marketing and we are seeing this come through to the bottom line as we tightly manage our costs and deliver procurement efficiencies," said Don Goulding, Distil's executive chairman.
Shares in Distil were up 11% to 1.00 pence early Thursday, one of the best performers in the AIM All-Share.
By Sam Unsted; samunsted@alliancenews.com; @SamUAtAlliance
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