Moa shares soar after meeting sales guidance

Friday 4th April 2014

Shares in Moa Group soared to a three-week high after the beer maker said it met a sales target, which it was forced to cut last year when switching its local distribution.

The shares jumped 19 percent to 63 cents after the Auckland-based company said it sold 3.67 million bottles in the year ended March 31, and will announce its formal result on May 27. In December it forecast a full-year loss of between $5 million and $6 million, at least twice the expected loss of $2.5 million in its 2013 prospectus.

The stock slumped last year when sales volumes missed forecast, something Moa blamed on its now-dumped distributor, Treasury Wine Estates, for failing to deliver on the agreed targets.

Moa is using a contract brewing facility to cope with increased volumes as it goes through a resource consent appeal process to build a bigger brewery.

Last year the company's board said it will embark on a strategic review to "improve the overall profitability and viability of the business model in each of its markets and in terms of its manufacturing capability, both for the immediate and medium terms."

It expects to complete the review once the decision on the new brewery is finalised.

BusinessDesk.co.nz

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