The new chief executive of ASX-listed whisky group Lark...

The new chief executive of ASX-listed whisky group Lark Distilling has started a three-month strategic review of the company aiming to invigorate growth, and has assured investors it has avoided any residual brand damage over the shock resignation of its former boss amid a drugs scandal 15 months ago.

Satya Sharma, who was an executive for 10 years with Scottish whisky giant William Grant & Sons in Singapore, China and the United Kingdom, expects the whisky category to be resilient in tougher economic times.

“As a category, history shows it has proven to be resilient,” he said. There is anecdotal evidence from e-commerce channels that online buyers are slowing purchases as they head back to hospitality venues to socialise again after the pandemic.

“Potentially, people are re-assessing how much stock they’ve got at home in their bar trolleys. Lark, based in Tasmania, has suffered a halving of its share price since the start of 2022. Former Bellamy’s infant formula boss Laura McBain has been its interim CEO for 15 months following the sudden resignation of Geoff Bainbridge, who exited before a video circulated of him in his underwear smoking crystal methamphetamine. He claimed he was the victim of an extortion scam

Mr Sharma said the company was focused on the future and in his first three weeks meeting staff and in the trade, it was clear the issue was well behind Lark.

“Not a single person that I’ve met in the first few weeks has referenced Geoff,” he said.

“I think the world’s moved on. The passage of time has run its course.”

Mr Sharma doesn’t want to pre-empt the strategic review, but Lark does need to become a larger company over time.

“I will be open to M&A, but I will be focused on making sure our own house is in order,” he said.

Mr Sharma expects to have a clear growth strategy to enunciate by September or October. There was speculation late in 2022 about a possible merger with Tasmanian group Sullivans Cove Distillery.

About 80 per cent of the group’s sales are in Australia, and Mr Sharma says he wants to ramp up overseas sales using the unique provenance of Tasmania’s “clean and green” environment as a strong selling point.

He acknowledges Lark is a small player compared with the global giants, one of which he has just left. “There’s a big enough pool out there for us to play in,” he said.

Lark’s revenues were down 6.5 per cent to $11.4 million in the six months ended December 31, and the company made a small first half loss of $1.46 million.

Mr Sharma said the group had a whisky bank of 2.2 million litres which was still maturing and would be steadily rolled over the next eight years and beyond.

Barley prices, energy and transport costs have contributed to higher inflation, and Mr Sharma said even though there might be a tapering of inflation now, there was a compounding effect which flowed through the business. “I’m hopeful we’ve passed the peak.”

Lark shares are at $1.78 and were as high as $4.60 in February 2022, before Mr Bainbridge’s exit. Mr Sharma said investors in whisky companies needed a long-term, patient approach, and he isn’t fixated on market movements.

“The market will do what the market will do