Distil Regulatory News (DIS)

18 Jul 2006 15:00

Blavod Extreme Spirits PLC18 July 2006 18 July 2006 Blavod Extreme Spirits PLC AGM Statement Colin Campbell, Chairman of Blavod Extreme Spirits PLC ("the Company" or"Blavod"), will make the following comments on current trading at the Company'sAnnual General Meeting being held today at 3.00pm. "Our brands across the portfolio have performed strongly in the first quarterwith revenue in the US ahead over 63% and revenue in the UK ahead over 47% ofthe same period last year. As we stated in our June preliminary results announcement, Blavod ExtremeSpirits had a good year in the twelve months ended 31 March 2006 with strongsales growth, improved margins, significant reduction in operating loss andcontinued expansion of our portfolio of brands. Specifically, sales grew by 72% to £5.4m compared to £3.1m in the previous year,with gross margins improving to 31.2% in 2005/6, whilst shipments grew by 51.4%.The company continued investing heavily in brand marketing and sales resourcesin the US and the UK. As a result of our marketing and promotional efforts, Blavod Black Vodka andPlayers Extreme continue to show very strong growth. Additionally, the brandswith which we have exclusive agency agreements, in particular, Mickey Finn's andMolinari in the UK and Baroncini in the US, continue to be successful. El Diamante del Cielo tequilas, produced by the the joint venture we establishedwith Suntory International Corporation, have been very well received and are nowdistributed in 42 states in the United States. From July 1st, the company has an exclusive agency agreement with Cockspur Rumin the UK and has already achieved significant new distribution. The prospects for 2006/7 are good. With attractive brands, a focused anddetermined management group, supported by a sales team with proven results, weexpect a good year. The Board is pleased with the progress we're making as wecontinue to build for the future." Colin CampbellChairman Enquiries: Blavod Extreme Spirits PLC Jeff Hopmayer, Chief Executive 001 615 771 9111 Tony Murphy, Finance Director Brewin Dolphin Mark Brady 011 3241 0129 Keith Williams 011 3241 0186 Cardew Group Tim Robertson 020 7930 0777 Catherine Maitland Background on Blavod Extreme Spirits Blavod Extreme Spirits, plc (LSE: BES), is an international spirits companybased in London with U.S. offices in Franklin, Tennessee. Formed by the 2003merger of Blavod Black Vodka plc and Extreme Beverage Company, Blavod ExtremeSpirits produces and sells its black-colored vodka, aptly called Blavod,throughout the world. BES also produces and sells the award-winning, intenselyflavored line of Players Extreme vodkas and rums. In the United States, BES isthe exclusive distributor of an elite wine portfolio of fine Italian wines, aswell as the award winning El Diamante del Cielo tequilas. For more informationon the company, please visit: www.blavodextreme.com. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange