DavidsTea brewed up an annual profit for the first time in seven years

MONTREAL – DavidsTea Inc. brewed its first annual profit in seven years as it capped a recovery year by swinging to a profit in the fourth quarter.

The Montreal-based beverage company, which has dramatically restructured its operations, earned $78.1 million in fiscal 2021. That compared with a loss of $55.9 million a year earlier.

The annual profit was the first since 2015, when it earned $6.5 million.

For the three months ended Jan. 29, DavidsTea earned $1.3 million or five cents per diluted share, compared with a quarterly loss of $27.2 million or $1 per share in the year-ago period.

DavidsTea’s adjusted profit dropped to $1.91 million or seven cents per share, down from $4 million or 15 cents per share in the fourth quarter of 2020.

Quarterly revenues decreased less than one per cent to $39.9 million from $40.2 million a year earlier, while full-year revenues fell 14.5 per cent to $104.1 million from $121.7 million in 2020.

“Fiscal 2021 was marked by a series of challenges and achievements, while we stayed the course on our newly defined long-term growth strategy,” CEO and chief brand officer Sarah Segal said in a news release.

A corporate restructuring saw the company close its U.S. retail network and all but 18 locations in Canada.

It has increased digital sales and sales to grocery stores in Canada. It is planning to enter the wholesale channel in the U.S. by year-end.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 29, 2022.