Angostura's profits buoyed by strong demand

The House of Angostura, Eastern Main Road, Laventille. - Photo courtesy Angostura
The House of Angostura, Eastern Main Road, Laventille. - Photo courtesy Angostura

ANGOSTURA’S net profit after tax grew a robust 9.2 per cent in 2019 to TT$141.8 million dollars, up from $130 million the year before. The publicly-traded company said the strong showing was based on total revenue of $847.2 million, its highest in ten years, and an increase of 8.1 per cent or $63.5 million over 2018.

In a statement, chairman Terrence Bharath attributed the gains to solid demand for the company’s signature aromatic bitters in key North American markets including California, New York, Chicago, and Texas, and across much of Canada.

Exports to the US in particular, which has emerged as the fastest-growing bitters market in the world, grew 11 per cent, led by strong distribution growth among top retailers buoyed by a strong US economy.

Canada, Europe and the UK each reported growth exceeding 15 per cent over the previous year, the statement said.

Closer to home, the revenue picture was similarly uplifting.

Angostura reported that revenue from its Lemon Lime Bitters in Trinidad and the wider Caribbean grew ten per cent and, according to Bharath, the company got a major boost from local rum sales which included the White Oak Sorrel brand it launched in the fourth quarter of last year.

Long considered one of the world’s bitters behemoths, much of the growth across Angostura’s 160 markets has been driven by increased investments in marketing and promotional tactics designed to corner more of the restaurant and bar sector and emerge as the king of cocktails.

The company’s latest financials show it spent more than $285 million on marketing over the past two years in pursuit of that goal and sales from that investment suggest demand for its aromatic flavourings and rum products show little sign of abating.

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