If, in 1992 you had bought shares in BRL Hardy at $1 each, they would now be worth in the vicinity of $11, which equates to an annual return around 34%. The company’s market capitalisation has increased exponentially from just $90 million in 1992 to $1.9 billion at the end of 2001. While many in the wine industry still hold the view that BRL Hardy has achieved these results without actually developing significant brands, the company was named Australian Exporter of the Year in 2001 by Austrade, The Australian Trade Commission and The Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Its Banrock Station brand has also been listed amongst the Top 10 Fastest Growing Brands in AC Nielsen’s UK survey. Driven by strong growth in the UK and Europe, BRL Hardy’s global sales in 2001 of $758 million were up by 20.7% on the $627 million achieved the year before, while its profit after tax reached $72.2 million, 21.1% up on the $59.9 million of 2000. While its North American EBIT fell by 30% to around A$5 million, the company’s EBIT from Australasian business rose by 10%. Overall, its overseas operations’ EBIT rose by 29%, combining to a 21.5% overall increase in EBIT to $124.2 million. The company estimates that the combined costs involved in its failed bid to purchase US producer Kendall-Jackson and in the establishment of its joint venture with Constellation Brands, Pacific Wine Partners, totalled $1.8 million after tax. The final share dividend for 2001 was 20 cents per share, up from 18 cents in 2000 and 15.5 cents in 1999. BRL Hardy’s managing director, Stephen Millar, said that the outlook for 2002 was ‘extremely positive,’ in spite of difficult conditions in Australia and in export markets. ‘We are confident 2002 has the potential to be another great year for our company, driven by continued profit growth in Europe and New Zealand, the emergence of our North American business to provide significantly higher profit and maintaining our Australian earnings,’ he said. While Millar is ‘reasonably confident’ of profit forecasts in the mid to high-eighties, at least 15% above that last year, some analysts are estimating around or just below A$90 million.
