Corby Spirit and Wine Limited (CSWA) Earnings Call Transcript & Summary

Thank you. Good morning. Welcome to the Corby, Spirit & Wine Fiscal Year 2026 Q4 Financial Results Conference Call for the period ended June 30, 2026. Joining me on the call this morning are Florence Trésorier, President and Chief Executive Officer, and one Alonso, Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. Hopefully you've had the opportunity to review the press release which was issued yesterday. Before we begin, I would like to inform listeners that information provided on today's call may contain forward-looking statements, which can be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Risks and uncertainties about the company's business are more fully discussed in Corby's materials. including annual and interim MD&A, filed with the securities and regulatory authorities in Canada as required. At this time, all participants are in listen-only mode. Following management's commentary, we will conduct a Q&A session. Instructions will provide at that time for you to queue up for questions. If you have any difficulties, here in the conference, just press star zero on your telephone for operator assistance or click the help button on your screen. Now, I would like to turn the call over to Ms. Trezariu.

Thanks a lot. Thank you. So good morning everyone and thank you for joining us to review Corby's Spirits & Wine, fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2026 results. Despite a challenging market, fiscal 2026 was very much a record year for Corby, with a strong top line growth, continued momentum in RTDs, and further market share gains in spirits. We delivered double digit revenue growth, with net sales increasing 10% on a reported basis and 11% organically, driven by continued continue momentum in RTDs and ongoing market-sharing in SIN spirits. These results reflect the strength of our portfolio and the consistency of our execution. Across both spirits and RTD, strong sales execution drove market share gains across our portfolio, supported in part by the removal of U.S. origin products from shelves. From a financial perspective, Earning Growth outpaces revenue growth reflecting purposeful investment, B&R Key Brands, and Carrefour Resource Management. Our RTD portfolio remains a significant growth driver. RTD now represents circa 40% of Corby's revenue, making us one of the leading Canada-wide players in this very fast-growing category. We continue to outpace category growth while capitalizing on to market expansion opportunities. solid cash flow and continue to deliver attractive long-term shareholder value. We ended the year with a net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio of 1.3 times, reflecting the strengths of our balance sheet and our financial discipline. Reflecting our strong financial position and continued confidence in Corbia Outlook, I'm pleased to announce that we declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, up 4% from the prior quarter, and delivered a one-year total shareholder return of 19% as of June 30th. Subsequent to year end, we announced two significant developments. The first one, which is reflecting our continued portfolio discipline, is the announcements on August 5th of the completion of the sale of LEMS Rembrandt for an aggregate consideration of $39.2 million. This sharpens our focus on priority growth platform while freeing up capital and resources for higher return opportunities. It is very much consistent with our long-term strategy of simplifying the portfolio to drive growth and shareholder value. The second development is as of yesterday, we have renewed our representation agreement with Pernod Ricard for a further three years to September 2029 with the potential for an additional two years extensions after that, subject to the terms of the agreement. This renews our exclusive Canadian rights to represent Ternorica key brands, including Absolute, Jameson, and the Glenlivet. This agreement underscores the strength of our long-term relationship with Ternorica and gives us continued access for current class brand portfolio in the Canadian market. Now turning to the market performance, unfortunately complete four-square Ontario market data was not available at the time of the reporting. Given Ontario's significance within the Canadian series and RTD market, presenting market performance without Ontario would not provide a representative view of national market trends. Accordingly, please refer to the Q3 press release, MD&A, an earnings rule presentation for market trend analysis for the nine months ending March 2026. Moving now to our growth strategy. I've previously stated that RTDs remain one of Corby's more significant growth engines and a key contributor to our overall performance. Over the last 12 months, our RTD business has delivered strong acceleration with sustained share gains in every province, supported by strong innovation and market expansion. ForB continued to outperform the RTD category nationally with our strong innovation performance and expanded distribution, driving an outstanding 18 volume growth compared compared to category growth of 7%. We also continue to capitalize on Ontario route to market modernization, where Codex Franks grew market share across every channel in fiscal 2026 and maintain its position as the number one brand in RTD in Ontario, holding the number one brand position in both grocery and STBO channels. In Western Canada, ABG delivered strong momentum, growing volume 14.3%, while the category declined 2.7%, demonstrating again the strength of our portfolio and our brands. Our specialized RTD route to market strategy continues to expand our national footprint. Through our Canada Dry Moat partnership, we've added meaningful scale and dedicated coverage across Alberta, Manitoba, Saskatchewan, further strengthening our national presence. As mentioned, innovation is a major driver of the category and continues to exceed expectations across our portfolio in Ontario. FedExRank held two of the top three innovation positions with Vodka Soda Freezie and Candy Key Bag in a Box, while JP Weiser Canada Dry RTD ranked among the province-leading innovations. Finally, we continue to actively shape and enhance our portfolio on the RTD front also to support long-term growth. We increased our ownership of ABG to 95% and exited non-core RTD and BA brands, further streamlining the business and sharpening ABG's strategic focus. These results demonstrate the strength of our RTD strategy and reinforce our confidence in the strategic priorities that continue to guide our business. Our strategic direction remains very much consistent. We remain focused on gaining share in spirits through strong brand activation, innovation, and commercial execution, while accelerating our presence in the fastest growing categories and continuing to drive value ahead of volume. At the same time, we're actively managing our portfolio to ensure we're investing behind the strongest opportunities and positioning the business for sustainable growth. We also continue to see opportunity in key export markets where a targeted approach and regional activations are helping to embed GP risers in local culture. C-scale 2026 demonstrated how these priorities translate into performance. combination of our broad portfolio, continued innovation, growing RTD capabilities, and disciplined execution give us confidence in POBI's ability to maintain and sustain momentum and create long-term value for our shareholders. With that, I will lend it to Juan to take you through the financial results.

Thank you, Florence, and good morning, everyone. I'm Juan Alonso, Corbis CFO, and I'm pleased to walk you through our financial results. Before we get into the numbers, you're going to notice reference to adjusted metrics and organic revenue growth throughout this session. We believe that these non-IFRS financial measures support a better understanding of our underlying business performance and trends. We provided detailed explanations for each of those elements in our Q4 FY26 MDNA, and I invite you to refer to these documents for any questions related to it. So let's start first with our Q4 results. I'm pleased to share that Corby delivered a resilient Q4 with revenue of $71.1 million down a modest 1% year-over-year, despite the unfavorable impact from LCBO order phasing. When we excluded the impacts from our disposed brands, organic revenue was flat year-over-year in Q4. This performance was supported by the continued RTD momentum that Florence highlighted before, along with solid export results in the quarter. Adjusted earnings from operation reached $11.8 million, up 3% versus last year, while our reported earnings from operation grew 4%. This outpaced revenue growth, reflecting our disciplined cost management. Looking at our bottom line, adjusted earnings per share came in at $0.26 and reported earnings per share at $0.23, reflecting a 1% contraction and 4% increase year-over-year, respectively. In Q4, Corby generated cash from operated activities of $17.7 million, which is $2.2 million higher compared to the same quarter last year. favorability was mainly driven by a positive change in net working capital balances, benefiting from the earlier Q3 build-up of ABG inventory ahead of the peak summer R&D season. Payables also contributed positively due to the year-over-year shift in NEMP phasing to June and LCBO late billing on Q4 sales reductions, which left more payables open at year-end compared to last year. Lastly, the Board approved a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, which represents a 1% increase or 4% increase versus dividend declared in the previous quarter. This reflects our confidence in our outlook and ongoing commitment to shareholder returns. Now, turning to the drivers behind our 71.1 million Q4 revenue, down 1% on our reported basis and flat on organic basis. Firstly, domestic case goods, which accounted for 81% of Corbis Q4 next day's performance, reached $57.7 million, reflecting a minus 3% reported contraction and minus 2% organic contraction versus Q4 FY25. driven by unfavorable LCBO order phasing in Q4 after orders were pulled forward into Q3 ahead of ERP system upgrades. However, this was offset by growth from the RTD business driven by LCBO pricing changes and to market modernization as well as spirits market share gains from reduced us origin competition Total commission made up 10% of Q4 next sales and was $7.3 million, a decline of 5% versus the prior year, impacted by softer performance from imported spirits, RTDs, and wines, as well as the represented wines portfolio lapping a strong competitive on basis last year. However, this was partially offset by the addition of the Canada Dry Mods RTD portfolio. Lastly, export revenue, which contributed 7% to total net sales, landed at $5.2 million, an increase of 37% versus Q4 FY25 on strong U.S. and U.K. shipment growth versus the prior year period, which was unfavorably impacted by phasing-related supply disruption. Now let's move to the fiscal year-to-date performance, to the full year performance. Corby delivered record full-year results in fiscal 2026. In FY26, Corby generated $271.6 million in revenue, a 10% reported increase over last year, with 11% organic growth. This is despite operations a challenging industry backdrop, highlighting the strength of our diversified portfolio and the ability to respond with agility to shifting market dynamics. I will provide additional details in the next slides. Our top line growth was mainly driven by the fast acceleration of our RTD business, with RTD currently being the fastest growing category in Canadian alcohol market and also market share gains in spirits. While this RTD mix and higher spirits input cost put some pressure on margin, a strong cost discipline helped offset those impacts. As a result, total operating expenses grew at a lower pace than revenue, at 9%, and Corby delivered fiscal year adjusted earnings from operation at $53.7 million, which is up 12% year over year, and reported earnings from operation of 53.7 million, up 16% year over year. From the bottom line, our adjusted earnings per share was $1.23, with This reported EPS at $1.17 represents strong growth of plus 15% and 22% respectively. Now, the drivers behind that full-year growth. Turning to the drivers of revenue growth. Firstly, domestic case goods, which accounted for 81% of Corby's net sales performance, reached $220.7 million, reflecting 12% reported growth and 13% organic growth. This is driven by ongoing RTD business acceleration and improved shelf prominence of Corby spirits, capitalizing on the removal of U.S. products in key provinces. Total commission made up 11% of net sales and came in at $29.4 million, a slight decline of 4% versus last year, with the represented wine portfolio lapping a strong comparison basis last year, which reflected a higher commission rate and strong pipeline fuel. to grocery and convenience stores channels in Ontario. That was partially offset by the Canada Dry Mods RTD Portfolio Edition. Lastly, export revenue, which contributed 7% to total net sales, increased to $18.2 million, up 22% year over year, largely driven by strong shipment expansion into Turkey and Eastern Europe and the strong growth of JP In fiscal year 2026, CORBY generated $37.1 million of cash from operating activities, a decline of $7.7 million from last year, driven by working capital increases related to higher receivables and RTD investments. inventory and higher income tax payments. Despite the decreased cash flow compared to last year's, Corby's cash generation ability remains strong, supported by our underlying earnings growth. This allows Corby to pay strong dividends, increase our stake, in ABG to 95% in the beginning of the fiscal year, and it still reduced net debt to $88.4 million, a $2.6 million improvement compared to FY25 after loan repayment. As a result, our net debt to adjust the BTD ratio reduced to 1.3 times from 1.4 at the end of Q4 FY25, demonstrating a strong solvency position and reinforcing our financial health. Corby has an attractive dividend payout ratio at 72% of cash flow from operating activities on a rolling 12-month basis. Our initial dividends declared for FY26 were $0.96 per share, up 5% from FY25, reflecting our commitment to providing consistent and predictable shareholder returns. We are proud of our performance in fiscal year 2026, and we remain focused on delivering long-term value for our stakeholders and shareholders as we enter fiscal year 2027. With a strong diversified portfolio, disciplined execution, and a clear strategy, we are able Corby is well positioned to continue driving growth and shareholder returns. Before I hand back to Florence, a quick look at what's ahead for Corby. We remain confident in our strategy and ability to deliver earnings growth in FY27, despite a more challenging comparison basis following the strong performance achieved in FY26. Our RTD portfolio remains a major growth engine, and we see significant potential to expand across Canada, led by strong traction from ABG. On spirits, our ambition is to continue to fight for market share gains, despite the declining category. Though we expect the size of the share gain gap versus the market to narrow as US products may return to shelves. Our diversified portfolio, leading brands, and strong local footholds continue to support our resilience in a dynamic market. In Ontario, we are going to continue to capitalize on the route to market modernization, meeting evolving consumer preferences with agility and breadth. taking an agile approach to navigate software start traffic and pricing pressure from the removal of minimum price. On the financial side, our focus remains on protecting margins and disciplined investments.

back to Florence for the closing remarks. Thank you very much Juan. So again as you are saying looking ahead we expect FY27 to bring continuous market uncertainty including questions around the return and potential return of US products to Canadian shelves and a more challenging comparison basis following this year very strong performance. Even so we remain very much focused on delivering profitable growth while maintaining a strong balance sheet and supporting a sustainable dividend for our shareholders. achieve these through continued investment behind our co-brands and building on the momentum of our R&D business while maintaining disciplined cost management. As we close today's call, I will briefly remind you why Corbi is a compelling long-term investment. For me, Canada is the largest publicly listed multi-barrage alcohol company with a highly diversified portfolio that supports resilience and relevance across categories. Our partnership with Pernod Ricard, which we just renewed, a global leading threats company, provides meaningful strategic and operational advantages. This year, 2026 demonstrated our ability to translate clear priorities into results. We delivered record revenue, continued to gain sharing spirits, and strengthened our position in the fast-growing RTD category. performance reflects the quality of our portfolio, the consistency of our execution, and our disciplined approach to investments and portfolio management. supported by strong cash flow generation and a strong balance sheet, we remain well positioned to invest in the future growth, deliver attractive shareholder returns, and create long-term shareholder and stakeholder value. Thanks again for joining us today. Juan and I are now very happy to take any questions you may have.

Thank you. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin the question and answer session. Should you have a question, please press star followed by the one on your touch-tone phone. You will hear a prompt that your hand has been raised. Should you wish to decline from the polling process, please press star followed by the two. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. moment please for your first question your first question comes from nick corcoran with acumen capital your line is now open.

Good morning and thanks for taking my questions. Just the first question for me, you announced the renewal of the Representation Agreement. I'm wondering if there's any changes in the structure of that agreement or is it unchanged?.