E-Malt.com News article: USA: Boston Beer reports increase in Q1 net revenue, shipments

The Boston Beer Company, Inc. reported first quarter 2021 net revenue of $545.1 million, an increase of $214.5 million or 64.9% from the same period last year, mainly due to an increase in shipments of 60.1%, PRNewswire reported on April 22.

Net income for the first quarter was $65.6 million, an increase of $47.3 million or 259.6% from the same period last year.

Earnings per diluted share were $5.26, an increase of $3.77 per diluted share, or 253.0% from the first quarter of 2020. This increase was primarily due to increased net revenue, partially offset by increases in operating expenses.

In the first quarter of 2020, the company recorded pre-tax COVID-19 related reductions in net revenue and increases in costs that totaled $10.0 million or $0.60 per diluted share.

In the first quarter of 2021 and the first quarter of 2020, the company recorded a tax benefit of $0.69 per diluted share and $0.17 per diluted share, respectively, resulting from the Accounting Standard "Employee Share-Based Payment Accounting" ("ASU 2016-09").

Jim Koch, Chairman and Founder of the company, commented, "As the world slowly reopens and the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, our primary focus continues to be on operating our breweries and our business safely and working hard to continue to innovate and meet customer demand. Before I turn to our key first quarter operational achievements, I want to note that, working with the Greg Hill Foundation, our Samuel Adams Restaurant Strong Fund has raised $7.5 million thus far to support bar and restaurant workers who are experiencing hardships in the wake of COVID-19 and is committed to distributing 100% of its proceeds through grants to bar and restaurant workers across the country. We are thankful to our outstanding coworkers, distributors and retailers for their continued focus and diligence to continue to operate and help grow our business. The company's depletions increased 48 percent in the first quarter and we achieved double digit volume growth for the twelfth consecutive quarter. Early in 2021, we launched Truly Iced Tea Hard Seltzer and during the second quarter we plan to launch Truly Punch Hard Seltzer. Both combine refreshing hard seltzer with bold flavors and we believe these new launches continue to demonstrate our innovation leadership within the Hard Seltzer category. We are making steady progress in improving our brand support and messaging for our beer and cider brands to position them for long-term sustainable growth in the face of the difficult on-premise environment. We are optimistic that our on-premise business will significantly improve in 2021 as restrictions are slowly lifted. We are excited about the response to the introduction in early 2021 of several new Samuel Adams beers, including Samuel Adams Wicked Hazy, Samuel Adams Wicked Easy and Samuel Adams Just the Haze, our first non-alcoholic beer, as well as the positive reaction to our Samuel Adams 'Your Cousin from Boston' advertising campaign. We are confident in our ability to innovate and build strong brands that complement our current portfolio and help support our mission of long-term profitable growth."


23 April, 2021