E-Malt.com News article: USA, OR: Craft Brew Alliance reconfirms 2015 guidance and outlines two-year capital expenditure plans

Craft Brew Alliance (CBA), a leading craft brewing company, announced on April 27 that it is reconfirming 2015 full year guidance and providing additional details of its capital expenditure plans for 2015 and 2016, which expand on the company’s recently announced investment projects. CBA recently announced two major brewery expansions in Hawaii and Oregon, as well as a new brewpub in Seattle. The planned investments will increase CBA’s annual brewing capacity by 300,000 barrels (BBLs) in 2017, while supporting the company’s long-term gross margin goals.

The expansion in the West reflects CBA’s commitment to growing and investing in its brands’ home markets through providing meaningful scale and flexibility to meet increasing consumer demand. Widmer Brothers Brewing, headquartered in Portland, will add an additional 200,000 BBLs to its existing brewery, while Kona Brewing, headquartered in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, will build a new state-of-the-art 100,000 BBL brewery in its home market of Hawaii. The new Redhook Brewery brewpub will be located in one of Seattle’s historic neighbourhoods, where Redhook was founded more than 33 years ago. The brewery expansions are scheduled to be complete by early 2017, and it is anticipated that the new brewpub in Seattle will be complete by the end of 2017.

“We’re thrilled to be embarking on projects that will directly support the long-term growth of our brands in their home markets and enable us to brew more of our exceptional craft beers,” said Andy Thomas, chief executive officer, CBA. “These investments, reflected in our two-year capital expenditure plan, represent the next deliberate step towards achieving continued growth, reinforcing our connection to our home markets, and delivering on our 2017 gross margin target of 35%, while increasing long-term shareholder value.”

The company reconfirms capital expenditures of approximately $17 million to $21 million in 2015, which will support the initial expansion project start-up costs, as well as continued investments in quality, safety, sustainability, capacity and efficiency.

For 2016, the company anticipates capital expenditures in a similar range, between $17 million and $21 million, to bring the expansion projects to completion.



29 April, 2015