Adnams doubles profit in 2009
Suffolk-based brewer Adnams more than doubled its operating profit in 2009, partly thanks to a take-home beer sales increase of 22%.
Total sales at the firm grew to £51.3m, up from £47.1m in the previous year. Beer volumes were up 4%.
Meanwhile the company said that its hotels business had a "very busy" 2009, after it converted the garden rooms at the 350-year-old Swan Hotel in Southwold into the ‘Lighthouse Rooms'. It also took on the management of Fritton House, which is a restaurant with rooms close to the Norfolk Broads.
And its Cellar&Kitchen, which sells gifts, wine and beer, recovered to reach break-even after start-up losses in 2008.
But Jonathan Adnams, executive chairman, warned that the poor January weather had set the company off to a slow start to 2010, and it faced considerable "uncertainty" throughout the year.
"2010 started very unhelpfully with colder weather and more snow than we have seen for some years. This has set us back a little at the start of what looks like a very uncertain year. There will be a General Election and there is a clear expectation of tax increases," he said.
But he added: "We believe that quality products will stand out and bring success and we also believe that our innovative approach will pay dividends in difficult times."
Adnams warns that 2009 could be worse than 2008 >>
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By Neil Gerrard
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