Corby Spirit and Wine (TSX:CSW) released fourth-quarter financial results and hosted an earnings call on Thursday. Read the complete transcript below.

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Summary

Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd reported a record year for fiscal 2026 with double-digit revenue growth, driven by strong performance in the RTD segment and market share gains in spirits.

The company achieved a 10% increase in net sales on a reported basis and 11% organically, with RTDs now comprising 40% of total revenue, highlighting the strategic focus on this fast-growing category.

Earnings growth outpaced revenue growth, reflecting disciplined cost management and strategic investments, with adjusted earnings from operations up 12% year over year.

Corby announced the sale of the Lamb's Rum brand for $39.2 million to focus on higher-return opportunities and renewed its representation agreement with Pernod Ricard until 2029.

The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, up 4% from the previous quarter, and reported a one-year total shareholder return of 19% as of June 30, 2026.

Looking ahead to FY27, Corby expects market uncertainties, particularly regarding the potential return of U.S. products, but remains focused on maintaining growth through investment in core brands and the RTD business.

Full Transcript

OPERATOR

Good morning. Welcome to the Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd Fiscal Year 2026 Q4 Financial Results conference call for the period ended June 30, 2026. Joining me on the call this morning are Florence Trezarieu, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Juan Alonso, Vice President and 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 be provided at that time for you to queue up for questions. If you have any difficulties during the conference, please press Star 0 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. Trezarieu.

Florence Trezarieu, President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Ella. Thank you, and good morning everyone, and thank you for joining us to review Corby Spirit and Wine Ltd fourth quarter and full year fiscal 2026 results. Despite a challenging market, fiscal 2026 was very much a record year for Corby with 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 momentum in RTDs and ongoing market share gains in 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, earnings growth outpaced revenue growth. Reflecting purposeful investment, our anchor brands, and careful resource management, our RTD portfolio remained a significant growth driver.

RTD now represents 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 route-to-market expansion opportunities. We also generated 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 1.3x, reflecting the strength of our balance sheet and our financial discipline.

Reflecting our strong financial position and continued confidence in Corby's 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 reflects our continued portfolio discipline, is the announcement on August 5 of the completion of the sale of the Lamb's Rum brand for an aggregate consideration of $39.2 million.

This sharpens our focus on priority growth platforms 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've renewed our representation agreement with Pernod Ricard for a further three years to September 2029, with the potential for an additional two-year extension after that, subject to the terms of the agreement.

This renews our exclusive Canadian rights to represent Pernod Ricard key brands including Absolut, Jameson, and The Glenlivet. This agreement underscores the strength of our long-term relationship with Pernod Ricard and gives us continued access to a world-class brand portfolio in the Canadian market. Now turning to the market performance, unfortunately complete fourth quarter Ontario market data was not available at the time of the reporting. Given Ontario's significance within the Canadian spirits and RTD markets, 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, and earnings 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.

We continued to outperform the RTD category nationally with our strong innovation performance and expanded distribution driving an outstanding 18% volume growth compared to category growth of 7%. We also continue to capitalize on Ontario route-to-market modernization, where our strength grew market share across every channel in fiscal 2026 and maintained its position as the number one brand in RTD in Ontario, holding the number one brand position in both grocery and LCBO 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 Mott's partnership, we've added meaningful scale and dedicated coverage across Alberta, Manitoba, and 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, our strength held two of the top three innovation positions with Vodka Soda Freeze and Candy Key bag-in-a-box, while J.P. Wiser's Canada Dry RTD ranked among the province's 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 beer brands, further streamlining the business and sharpening EBITDA 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 are 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 J.P. Wiser's in local culture. Fiscal 2026 demonstrated how these priorities translate into performance. The combination of our broad portfolio, continued innovation, growing RTD capabilities, and disciplined execution gives us confidence in Corby's ability to maintain and sustain momentum and create long-term value for our shareholders.

With that, I will hand it to Juan to take you through the financial results.

Juan Alonso, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Thank you, Florence, and good morning everyone. I'm Juan Alonso, Corby's CFO, and I'm pleased to walk you through our financial results. Before we get into the numbers, you're going to notice references to adjusted metrics and organic revenue growth throughout this section. 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 MD&A, 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 exclude 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 operations reached $11.8 million, up 3% versus last year, while our reported earnings from operations 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 operating activities of $17.7 million, which is $2.2 million higher compared to the same quarter last year. This 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 RTD season.

Payables also contributed positively due to the year-over-year shift in A&P 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 4% increase versus the 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 a reported basis and flat on an organic basis.

Firstly, domestic case goods, which accounted for 81% of Corby's Q4 net sales performance, reached $57.7 million, reflecting a 3% reported contraction and 2% organic contraction versus Q4 FY25. This was driven by unfavorable LCBO order phasing in Q4 after orders were pulled into Q3 ahead of the ERP system upgrade. However, this was offset by growth from the RTD business driven by LCBO pricing changes and route-to-market modernization, as well as spirits market share gains from reduced U.S.-origin competition.

Total commission made up 10% of Q4 net 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 comparison basis last year. However, this was partially offset by the addition of the Canada Dry Mott's 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 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 operating in a challenging industry backdrop, highlighting the strength of our diversified portfolio and ability to respond with agility to shifting market dynamics.

Our top-line growth was mainly driven by the fast acceleration of our RTD business, with RTD currently being the fastest-growing category in the Canadian alcohol market, and also market share gains in spirits. While this RTD mix and higher spirits input costs put some pressure on margin, 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 operations at $53.7 million, which is up 12% year over year, and reported earnings from operations of $53.7 million, up 16% year over year.

From the bottom line, our adjusted earnings per share was $1.23, with reported earnings per share at $1.17, representing strong growth of 15% and 22%, respectively. 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 wines portfolio lapping a strong comparison basis last year which reflected a higher commission rate and strong pipeline fill to grocery and convenience store channels in Ontario. That was partially offset by the Canada Dry Mott's RTD portfolio addition. 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 strong growth of J.P. Wiser's in the U.S. 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 inventory and higher income tax payments. Despite the decreased cash flow compared to last year, 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 still reduce net debt to $88.4 million, a $2.6 million improvement compared to FY25 after loan repayment.

As a result, our net debt to adjusted EBITDA ratio was 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. Total 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, 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 a declining category, though we expect the size of the share gain gap versus the market to narrow as U.S. 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 route-to-market modernization, meeting evolving consumer preferences with agility, taking an agile approach to navigate softer store traffic and pricing pressure from the removal of minimum price. On the financial side, our focus remains on protecting margins and disciplined investments. Now back to Florence for the closing remarks.

Florence Trezarieu, President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you very much, Juan. So again, as you were saying, looking ahead, we expect FY27 to bring continued market uncertainty, including questions around the return, and potential return, of U.S. products to Canadian shelves, and a more challenging comparison basis following this year's 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.

We will achieve this through continued investment behind our core brands and building on the momentum of our RTD business while maintaining disciplined cost management. As we close today's call, I will briefly remind you why Corby is a compelling long-term investment. Corby is Canada's largest publicly listed multi-beverage 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 spirits company, provides meaningful strategic and operational advantage.

Fiscal 2026 demonstrated our ability to translate clear priorities into results. We delivered record revenue, continued to gain share in spirits, and strengthened our position in the fast-growing RTD category. This performance reflects the quality of our portfolio, the consistency of our execution, and our disciplined approach to investment and portfolio management. Brought in by strong cash flow generation and a strong balance sheet, we remain well positioned to invest in 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.

OPERATOR

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. We will now begin the question-and-answer session. Should you have a question, please press Star followed by 1 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 2. If you are using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. One moment please for your first question. Your first question comes from Nick Corcoran with Acumen Capital.

Your line is now open.

Nick Corcoran, Analyst at Acumen Capital

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?

Florence Trezarieu, President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks, Nick, for the question. The agreement remains very much unchanged. Again, I think we've had a very long relationship with Pernod Ricard—it's more than two decades. Very strong relationship, an exclusive one in Canada. And the renewal of the agreement, which is unchanged, is a testament to that strength.

Nick Corcoran, Analyst at Acumen Capital

And then U.S. liquors being off shelf—I understand that's been a bit of a tailwind for you. How are you thinking about that potentially turning to a headwind if U.S. liquor does return to shelves?

Florence Trezarieu, President and Chief Executive Officer

Thanks for the question. So this is an obvious question, so I was expecting it. I mean, I guess you would appreciate that the situation remains very fluid. What we can say is that it's creating uncertainty, and I think on both sides of the border. I'm not going to be speculating on the potential impact one way or another. I think what is important for us is to continue focusing on what we can control, which is to serve the Canadian consumer and then support our brands and our partners, and then making sure that we manage the business with discipline through the uncertainty.

So, again, I'm not going to be very specific. I don't think you would expect me to be very specific. This is something we're measuring closely, but focusing on what we can control.

Nick Corcoran, Analyst at Acumen Capital

Good. I'll pass along. Thank you.

OPERATOR

Thank you, ladies and gentlemen. As a reminder, should you have a question, please press Star 1. There are no further questions at this time. I will now turn the call over to management for closing remarks.

Florence Trezarieu, President and Chief Executive Officer

Thank you very much. Thank you very much for attending the call. Thank you very much for your questions. We remain at your disposal should you have any questions. I wish you all a very good day. Thank you.

OPERATOR

Ladies and gentlemen, this concludes your conference call for today. We thank you for participating and ask that you please disconnect your lines.

Disclaimer: This transcript is provided for informational purposes only. While we strive for accuracy, there may be errors or omissions in this automated transcription. For official company statements and financial information, please refer to the company's SEC filings and official press releases. Corporate participants' and analysts' statements reflect their views as of the date of this call and are subject to change without notice.