Drinks firm Fever-Tree has warned over earnings this year as the the Ukraine conflict has “dramatically” pushed up commodity costs in recent weeks.
The group revealed it expects underlying earnings of between £63 million and £66 million this year as the cost pressures, alongside inflation rises.
As a result, Fever-Tree had already issued an alert over the impact of inflation on 2022 earnings in January, before Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
It comes despite hospitality getting back on track after Covid restrictions were lifted.
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Fever-Tree forecasts revenues of up to £365 million and growth of between around 14% to 17% as it hopes for its first full year of trading through the on-trade channel in more than two years.
“Commodity prices have increased dramatically in recent weeks because of the terrible events unfolding in Ukraine, and this has created significant uncertainty in relation to input costs,” the company said.
The earnings warning came as the firm reported pre-tax profits rising to £55.6 million in 2021 from £51.6 million in 2020 as revenues jumped 23% to £311.1 million.
Fever-Tree co-founder and chief executive Tim Warrillow said: “Whilst the tragic situation in Ukraine has resulted in significant uncertainty in relation to our input costs in the short term, the long-term global opportunity for Fever-Tree remains substantial and we are as confident as ever in the brand’s ability to capitalise on this.”
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