Categorized under: Brewery, Stock Market

Pyramid Breweries stock dives 23 percent


Friday, March 7, 2008
Pyramid Breweries stock dives 23 percent
Puget Sound Business Journal (Seattle)

Pyramid Breweries Inc. officials said they lost market share in the state of Washington in the fourth quarter, calling the West Coast craft beer market “softening.”

Company officials said that in response to disappointing fourth-quarter earnings, they plan layoffs of 11 percent of the company’s salaried work force in 2008, or 12 people; a “significant” pricing increase on beer brands; and a delay into expanding to the Eastern U.S.

Shares in the Seattle-based brewer (NASDAQ: PMID) dropped 23 percent in Friday trading, falling 46 cents to close at $1.50.

“Despite our aggressive investments in sales and marketing for brand building and expansion efforts made in 2007, we did not realize the top line growth we had anticipated due in part to a softening West Coast craft beer category and particularly soft Pyramid volume in our home Washington market,” said CEO Scott Barnum, in a statement.

On Wednesday, the company reported a fourth-quarter loss of $1.8 million, or a loss of 20 cents a share, compared with a loss of $1.2 million, or a loss of 14 cents per share in 2006. Sales fell to $12.2 million from $12.5 million a year earlier. No major analysts cover the company. For the fiscal year, sales fell to $51.6 million from $54.3 million in 2006.

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