That includes sales by Dogfish Head Brewery. As previously announced, Boston Beer Co. acquired Dogfish on July 3, and began consolidating the two company’s results as of that date. Shipments were up 19.1%, and net income rose to $44.7 million, or $3.65 a share.
Depletion were up 30% for the combined company. Excluding Dogfish, depletions were up 24%. Shipments rose 19.1%; excluding Dogfish, shipments were up 13.8%.
The depletions growth was the result of increases in Truly Hard Seltzer and Twisted Tea brands and the addition of the Dogfish Head brands, partly offset by decreases in our Samuel Adams and Angry Orchard brands, said Dave Burwick, president/ceo.
“Truly continues to generate triple-digit volume growth. During the quarter, we launched Truly Draft nationally and continued to expand package distribution across all channels. We announced a multiyear U.S. partnership with the National Hockey League, which makes Truly Hard Seltzer the ‘official hard seltzer of the NHL,’ and enables all of our brands, including Samuel Adams and Dogfish Head, to benefit from the NHL partnership,” he said, adding:
“We announced the launch of new formulations for all of our Truly flavors, which we have tested with drinkers of Truly and competing brands and we are confident that we will now have the best-tasting hard seltzer on the market. In early 2020, we will launch Truly Hard Seltzer Lemonade in both a variety 12-pack and single-serve sizes. These new Truly flavors have the same 100 calories and 1 gram of sugar as other Truly flavors but have a more robust taste. Lastly, we have announced the addition of another new flavor, Watermelon Kiwi, available in our Truly Tropical Variety Pack and 6-packs. We believe these significant new flavor introductions, combined with the new NHL partnership and our ad campaign for Truly featuring well known actor Keegan-Michael Key, will help further improve our position as a leader in hard seltzer and build Truly as a meaningful and relevant brand.”
Turning to Twisted Tea, Burwick noted it “continues to generate consistent double-digit volume growth, even as new entrants have been introduced and competition has increased.
Angry Orchard‘s volume has declined against the 2018 national roll out of Angry Orchard Rosé. The cider category continues to be challenged, Burwich said. “We are working to return Angry Orchard to growth through continued packaging, innovation, promotion and brand communication initiatives. This fall, Angry Orchard Crisp Unfiltered, a traditional American Cider with only 10 grams of sugar was launched nationally across all channels and we are encouraged by early consumer reaction. For the remainder of 2019 and into 2020, we plan to build upon our success and work to drive our brands to their full potential, with a particular focus on our Truly brand. We’ve adjusted our expectations for 2019 full-year depletions growth and our earnings guidance to reflect our trends for the first nine months and our current view of the remainder of the year, which is primarily driven by the year-to-date performance of Truly. We are targeting high teens to low twenties top-line growth in 2020 and a significant increase in our operating income.”
Jim Koch, president/ceo, said the company “remain(s) positive about the future of craft beer and are happy that the strength of our diverse brand portfolio continues to fuel double-digit growth. We are confident in our ability to innovate and build strong brands and we are exploring new styles to launch in 2020 that would complement our current portfolio and help support our mission of long-term profitable growth.”