Mighty Craft is set to sell Jetty Road and FogHorn, with the ASX-listed operation's latest financial update revealing it has entered into agreements to sell both businesses. The announcement says Mighty Craft has already executed a binding agreement for the sale of the entirety of Jetty Road and has entered into a non-binding agreement for all of FogHorn; the latter sale is expected to be locked in during this financial quarter.

The announcement made no mention of who would be buying either brewery, with a Mighty Craft spokesperson telling The Crafty Pint the details of the buyers will be "shared closer to transition".

The Crafty Pint understands FogHorn founder and head brewer Shawn Sherlock plans to remain with the brewery he opened in 2015.

Jetty Road was the first beer business Mighty Craft – then known as Founders First – invested in; the key founders behind that business, Blake Bowden and Grant Rodgers, later left the Mornington Peninsula brewery in 2021. Since 2017, alongside Jetty Road and FogHorn, Mighty Craft invested in Sauce Brewing, Ballistic, Slipstream and Sparkke. In 2022, the ATO ruled that brands in which Mighty Craft owned a majority stake, would not be eligible for the excise rebate scheme with Drinks Adventures reporting that the decision had ramifications for a range of beer and spirits businesses.

Today's ASX announcement also stated Mighty Craft had received interest in buying its stake in Better Beer. In light of that, the company was considering selling part or all of its equity in the fast-growing beer brand in the interest of shareholders.

The financial update showed Better Beer has experienced 18 percent growth in the final quarter of last financial year and 138 percent growth across all of FY23. Mismatch Brewing, which was part of the Adelaide Hills Group Mighty Craft bought in 2021 for $47 million, recorded a revenue slump of 35 percent in the final quarter of FY23.

The ASX update is available below.

Mighty Craft Q4 FY23 Update

Modest LFL revenue growth and market share gains.

Additional funding updates amid strategic review.

Mighty Craft Limited (ASX:MCL) (“Mighty Craft”, “MCL” or the “Company” is pleased to provide a business update for the quarter ended 30 June 2023 (Q4 FY23 or Q4) and Appendix 4C, including additional Company funding updates.

Q4 FY23 HIGHLIGHTS:

Unaudited group revenue of $21.51 million, -7% versus prior corresponding period (“pcp”)
Like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth of +5% versus pcp2
Cash receipts of $26.5 million3, -2% versus pcp, negatively impacted by cycling whisky development syndicate income in prior year.
Net operating cashflows during the quarter of $(5.0) million, a result of trading performance and phasing of creditor payments
Wholesale performance steady across categories:
- Beer & cider – 3.2 million litres sold (+8% versus pcp)
- Spirits – 61k bottles sold (-1% versus pcp), including first shipments of Agave and Mount Uncle Rum
Better Beer sales of 2.6 million litres for Q4 FY24 and 10.4 million litres for FY23 (+138% growth versus FY22)
Full year FY23 performance reveals LFL wholesale revenue +54% with Beer / Cider up +73% and spirits up +7%

STRATEGIC REVIEW & FUNDING UPDATES:

Since 30 June 2023, the Company has made significant progress in relation to its ongoing funding/liquidity, including:
- Execution against divestment program expected to return ~$3.5 million of capital into the Company, including:
  - Executed a binding agreement for the sale of 100% of Jetty Road; and
  - Entered into a non-binding agreement for the sale of 100% of Foghorn Breweries. Expected to go binding in Q1 FY24.
- Trading term flexibility under negotiation with key suppliers and creditors, potentially increasing available cash by up to ~$3.0 million;
- Bridging loan – non-binding terms sheet received for a $5.0m bridging loan (if required) to support funding runway and an orderly divestment program; and
- Negotiation with Pure Asset Management – ongoing constructive discussions with senior lender around funding flexibility (including bridging loan) and runway to complete restructuring program.
The Company continues to execute against additional outcomes of its Board-led strategic review, including plan to significantly lower fixed costs and reduce debt levels, including:
- $4.4 million of annualised cost already removed from the business in Q4 FY23 (resulting in $0.6 million redundancy expenses). The full benefit of this reduction will be realised in FY24; and
- Further cost reductions planned for H1 FY24, to remove additional $3.0 million of cost.
Better Beer capital raise:
Through the Better Beer capital raise process, Mighty Craft has received inbound interest for its equity stake, beyond initial planned primary raising. In light of this interest, the Company is considering whether a full or partial equity sale is in the best interests of Mighty Craft shareholders.

Financial Performance

Mighty Craft delivered Q4 FY23 unaudited revenue of $21.5 million (-7% versus pcp). Cash receipts totalled $26.5 million (-2% versus pcp.). LFL revenue growth was +5%, reflecting the underlying trading performance of Mighty Craft’s priority brands. Q4 and Q1 are seasonally softer quarters for Mighty Craft, particularly now Better Beer is cycling a full year of sales

You can find the full ASX update here.

About Will

Will Ziebell is a history graduate who knows more about The Wire than he does about beer. He was awarded the AIBA Best Media trophy for 2018; HBO have told him to please send his fan mail elsewhere. He can be found on Instagram, Twitter and TikTok.