I'm not a holder but I saw this article in the AFR and thought it might be if interest to some in here. What has been peoples experiences with the delisting so far? I realize it's only been weeks so too soon to tell maybe. This article makes it sound like the company is thriving since delisting but it offers very little insight

• 
  

A

The beer company that quit the ASX and never looked back

Simon EvansSenior reporter

Jan 28, 2025 – 10.38am

Save

Share

Gift this article

Australia’s fourth-largest beer group voluntarily quit the ASX after 18 years as a listed entity and says it’s easier doing business dealing with its 1000 shareholders directly.

Good Drinks Australia, the parent behind brands including Gage Roads and Matso’s, was tired of what it perceived to be its persistent undervaluation by the market and paying listing fees when it had no need to raise capital.

Its exit underscores the problems the ASX faces with a shrinking number of listings.

“There’s obviously some fees and costs associated with being listed. The liquidity at that end of the ASX wasn’t very strong,” managing director John Hoedemaker said.

Whiletakeovers thin out the ASX ranks, there have also been fewer new faces. There were 2116 stocks and funds listed on the exchange at the end of December, according to figures from the ASX, 75 fewer than in 2023. This marks the lowest number of listed companies since 2006.

Good Drinks Australia generated annual revenue of $112 million in 2023-24, and was worth about $60 million in market capitalisation. About 98 per cent of shareholders backed themove to delist.

“The board felt we weren’t attracting the correct valuation,” Mr Hoedemaker said, adding that the underlying value of the assets and its growth trajectory had not been reflected in the share price.

Good Drinks had been mulling an exit for a couple of years. The company officially left the ASX on December 30. It intends to set up a buying and selling mechanism for shareholders and will give regular financial updates.

As it happens, the December half was a strong one for Good Drinks Australia, which floated in 2006 as Gage Roads Brewing. Mr Hoedemaker said in the six months ending December 31 the group had increased revenue by 8 per cent in an overall beer market that contracted between 4 per cent and 5 per cent.

The company’s strategy was built on increasing market share and sales, allocating capital to growth rather than dividends.

The Gage Roads Single Fin brand is the No.5 seller in the group’s home state of Western Australia, behind the leading national brands owned by Asahi and Kirin. The company is the No.4 player in the Australian beer market behindfamily-owned Coopers Breweryand the two Japanese-owned players.

Mr Hoedemaker said Good Drinks Australia, which is steadily expanding in Queensland, NSW and Victoria, generates about 65 per cent of its sales from packaged beer, and 35 per cent from draught beer in pubs and bars.

It shut the Atomic pub venue in Sydney’s Redfern last year, with a $4.5 million impairment pulling the company to a loss of $2.8 million in 2023-24.

The twice-yearly excise increases by the federal government – higher than usual because they arelinked to the inflation rate, had put extra pressure on household budgets, the beer boss said. It was causing some drinkers to hold back. “It’s getting much harder for people to shout a round of drinks,” he said.

“We certainly don’t use it as an excuse, we pay our tax bills and get on with it,” he said.