Good morning. Welcome to Corby Spirit and Wine's fiscal year-end two thousand and twenty-four financial results conference call for the period ended June thirtieth, two thousand and twenty-four. Joining me on the call this morning are Nicolas Krantz, President and Chief Executive Officer, and Juan Alonso, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Hopefully, you have had the opportunity to review the press release, which was issued yesterday.
Before we begin, I would like to inform listeners that information provided on today's call may contain forward-looking statements, which can be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated. Risks and uncertainties about the company's business are more fully discussed in Corby's materials, including annual and interim MD&A, filed with the securities regulatory authorities in Canada as required. At this time, all participants are in a listen-only mode.
Following management's commentary, we will conduct a question-and-answer session. Instructions will be provided at that time for you to queue up for questions. And if you have any difficulties hearing the conference, please press star zero on your telephone for operator assistance, or click the Help button on your screen. Now, I will turn the call over to Mr. Krantz.
Thank you very much, and good morning, everyone. So I am Nicolas Krantz, and I will be joined today by Juan Alonso, our CFO, to present our Q4 and full year results that we've released yesterday. So as a matter of introduction and key highlights, for the year, well, we are pleased very much so to report that we had some good growth reported in Q4 and for the full year, revenue growth and earnings growth, and Juan will go, of course, in more detail.
Particularly, it is clear that it was a year of transformation for Corby, with the positive impact of the ABG and the new acquisition, as we are, of course, striving to become a key player in the highly attractive and fast-growing ready-to-drink category.
But also, when we take the overall spirits and wine portfolio that we have, we really enjoyed this year's solid retail value growth throughout our portfolio, consistently outpacing the overall spirits and RTD market for the second year in a row, and in fact, as I will present, gaining share in all categories, so really a very satisfactory underlying commercial and business performance for the Corby portfolio. As we do that this year, we also continued what we call to build our Corby 2.0 roadmap, starting to, of course, bear some positive fruit. It's really about our digital transformation to become a more effective and impactful company.
It is about the way we prioritize, of course, our portfolio, our investment, how we can also enhance our promotional management and our revenue growth management, which is, of course, top of mind for us, and to support our sales team in the way they really activate in the different outlets and stores across Canada, and the way we invest behind our brand,
so really an important competitive advantage that we have built over the last two years, starting to bear very strong fruits, and last, of course, but not least, and of course, Juan will give you more color on this. We've been able to generate strong cash flow generation with a dividend enabling us to pay a dividend payout ratio of 76%.
We've increased the dividend this quarter, and Juan will come back to it. And we've done that while managing our balance sheet. As you know, for the acquisition, we took some debt, and we have at the end of the year a net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio of 1.8, which is exactly where we want it to be at the end of this financial year. So moving on a few minutes before going to the results themselves, the market context to give you a bit of color on the environment. Well, no surprise here, the Canadian beverage market was broadly flat over the last 12 months.
In value, spirits as at -0.1%, we have seen some growth in the on-premise channel, the bar, the restaurant, but a slight decline in the retail environment. So overall, the market almost flat in value, with a slight growth correction in the last quarter, which is of course positive. For the wine, the market has been declining by 1%.
And again, what is very noticeable and where we are very pleased to play now at scale in that category is the ready to drink segment, is the fastest growing category overall, continuing to show dynamic growth at +6.4%. In that context, Corby once more managed to outperform the market in value for the second year, showing some really positive results.
In the spirits segment, the overall portfolio, we are at 1.9% growth in this declining market or flat market, so you can see almost a two-point above the market, which is quite remarkable, reflecting the diversified portfolio and the successful innovation. And you know, often I've mentioned that innovation is a key part of our growth. It represents almost one third of our value growth, so it's very, very important, and we're now the second largest player, of course, in Canada, with a market share slightly below 17% and has increased this year. Three of the top ten spirits brands in Canada in value are in our portfolio, with Absolut, J.P. Wiser's, and Jameson.
And of course, on the ready-to-drink, we managed to deliver a double-digit growth in terms of our sellout, enjoying our very broad-based portfolio with Cottage Springs and the ABG, but also on the Corby-owned portfolio, so 13% on the RTD. When we combine spirits, RTD, and wine, where we know wine was a bit more challenging, we have been able to outperform the market and grow at 2.1% in terms of retail sellout. What was remarkable for us as well this year is that and it's maybe probably for the first time in many years, that we've been able to either maintain or gain share in every single category in the spirits segment, which was really a very important objective for us.
I've often mentioned the fact that we have one of the most, if not the most, complete portfolio in the market. We have brand at every price point in every category. So we really offer standard, premium, super premium, and ultra premium across all category, whether it's spirit, wine, and now RTD. And this has really enabled us to play the portfolio in a smart way. I've mentioned the digital transformation that was also helped by us being more savvy and smart in the way we are managing this portfolio, and this is paying off. So that's the market context, broadly in our commercial performance. And I will now turn over to Juan to give you properly our results for the Q4 and for the full year.
Thank you, Nicolas. Good morning, everyone. I'm Juan Alonso, Corby's CFO, and I'm pleased to walk you through our Corby's financial results for the fourth quarter and full year FY twenty-four, so very quickly, before we talk about our financial performance, you will notice during this presentation some mention to adjusted metrics and organic revenue growth.
We believe that those non-IFRS financial measures help better understand our underlying business performance and trends. We provided a detailed explanation for each of those elements in our just published Q4 FY twenty-four Management's Discussion and Analysis, MD&A, and I strongly invite you to refer to this document for any question related to it, so now stepping back to the quarter results.
Revenue for the fourth quarter was CAD 66.5 million, reflecting a significant reported growth of +50%, primarily driven by the inclusion of Ace Beverage Group sales, and also 1.5 months of performance from Nude Beverages. Our organic revenue, which excludes the contribution from these acquisitions, saw a modest decline of 1% in the quarter.
We are growing our domestic Cased Goods business, as you will see later, but this is offset by a shipment phasing impact in export business to the U.S. I will get back to it in the next page. Reflecting the strong revenue growth and a more modest expense growth, Corby delivered the robust improvements in earnings and profitability in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2024, with adjusted earnings from Operations of CAD 9.2 million, increasing +56% versus last year.
Despite increased interest charges related to the loan contracted to acquire ABG, Corby delivered adjusted net earnings per share of CAD 0.19, increasing by 10% year over year. Corby also delivered cash from operating activities at CAD 16.9 million, a reduction of CAD 2.1 million versus last year's quarterly, mostly due to the increase of interest expenses related to the loan contracted to acquire ABG.
Finally, the board of directors was pleased to declare yesterday an increase of our dividend to CAD 0.22 per share for the fourth quarter of FY 2024, an increase of 5% from the previous quarterly dividend at CAD 0.21. Now, moving to the next slide. Let's dive into our revenue performance.
Our Q4 revenue grew by CAD 22.3 million, boosted by the inclusion of ABG and Nude revenue of CAD 22.7 million, while our organic revenue saw a slight decline of 1% due to the following elements: Our domestic Cased Goods revenue, excluding ABG, remained resilient with a growth of +3% despite the negative impact of a customer pricing dispute.
Excluding this impact, our domestic Cased Goods revenue would have grown by 11%, supported by strong momentum of our RTD portfolio, and also the benefits of pre-buying effects at the LCBO, ahead of the labor strike that occurred in July. Our total commissions declined by 4% in the fourth quarter, with Pernod Ricard sales broadly flat versus a high base last year.
Just to give an idea, in the last quarter of last fiscal year, we grew 15% versus FY 2022, and that was fully offset by the lapping of some wine brands agency sales no longer represented by Corby. And lastly, our international Cased Goods revenue was down -27%, affected by the phasing effects of strong high-market product sales to the U.S. in Q4 last year, and also some pipeline fill to new markets in Q4 last year, too. So now moving to the next slide. To summarize our P&L results for the fourth quarter, we enjoyed a significant revenue growth of +50%, boosted by recent acquisitions with a resilient performance of our domestic Cased Goods.
Our total operating expenses increased by 36% at a more modest rate than revenue, with diligent internal cost management compared to a high expenses base last year, leading to margins improvements. As a result, our adjusted earnings from operations grew +56% while reported earnings from operations were benefited from the lapping of CAD 3 million of transaction costs incurred last year for the acquisition of ABG. Our adjusted net earnings per share was CAD 0.19, reflecting a strong growth of +10% in Q4 FY 2024 versus last year, despite higher interest charges related to the loan to acquire ABG. Now let's see how this translates into our full year FY 2024 financial results.
So in FY 2024, Corby's total revenue landed at nearly CAD 230 million at the end of fiscal year, breaking the CAD 200 million milestone for the first time in history, in growth of +41%, bolstered by recent acquisitions. Excluding the contribution of ABG and Nude brands, we are pleased to inform that our organic revenue remained robust with an increase of +4%, despite the headwinds of the overall market deceleration and also the customer pricing dispute impact.
I will go into more details in the next slide of our revenue. Significant year-over-year revenue growth, in addition to the realization of operating and organization efficiencies, helped to drive strong earnings and profitability growth in FY 2024. Indeed, full year Adjusted Earnings from Operations achieved CAD 44.6 million and increased by 37%.
In addition, while FY 2024 included interest charges related to the loan contracted to acquire ABG, adjusted net earnings per share grew +13% to reach CAD 1 per share. In FY 2024, Corby generated CAD 31.5 million of cash flow from operating activities, supported by higher reported net earnings. Corby closed the year with a healthy balance sheet, with a net debt over Adjusted EBITDA ratio at 1.8, and significant financial flexibility to execute on our strategic initiatives to drive long-term shareholder value.
Following the declaration of CAD 0.22 dividend per share in Q4, our total dividends declared for the full year, FY 2024, was CAD 0.85 per share. Moving to the next slide, let's dive in, into our sales performance. So our FY 2024 revenue significantly increased 41% versus last year, boosted by the inclusion of ABG performance.
Our organic revenue growth +4% was driven by the following elements. First, our domestic Cased Goods revenue, excluding ABG, saw a solid 2% growth despite some headwinds in the market. Excluding this impact, our domestic Cased Goods revenue would have organically grown +4%, led by J.P. Wiser's Family and Polar Ice Vodka solid performance.
Our total commission is slightly decreased by 1%, mostly due to the lapping of 13 third-party wine brands no longer represented by Corby. Lastly, we recorded dynamic export sales up +16%, capitalizing on new market opportunities with the recovery of Lamb's performance in the U.K. from last year, and also broad-based pricing initiatives.
Moving to the next slide, I would like to add some color on our branded performance for full year FY 2024, and I can highlight the solid performance of two of our flagship brands. J.P. Wiser's Family, FY 2024 revenue saw a 2% growth versus last year over declining volume, fueled by pricing favorability from Wiser's Deluxe and 10 Year Old, although it was affected by the negative impact of the customer pricing ongoing dispute.
And Polar Ice Vodka recorded a strong revenue growth of +9%, supported by the successful innovation launches of ready-to-serve cocktails such as Polar Ice Orange Blizzard and new RTD offerings. Ungava Spirits brands saw a solid 6% growth in value, following a strong Q4 performance and the successful launch of Baril Caché whisky in Quebec.
Mixable Liqueurs performance lapped a high shipment comparison basis from last year pipeline, but grew revenue up 1% versus last year through price increases and promo spend optimization. Lamb's benefited from strong recovery in the U.K., enhanced by price increases, which led to a revenue increase of 2% versus last year, despite -6% volume decrease due to underlying consumer trends in the domestic market.
One word on our newly added Cottage Springs brand performance. It remained a top-selling RTD brand in Ontario, and successfully launched new innovations such as Dock Days and Punches Up Variety Packs, two of the top three new innovations in Ontario over the last twelve months. Cottage Springs outpaced the RTD category in retail value growth.
So to summarize now in the next slide, our P&L results for the full year FY 2024, we recorded a significant revenue growth of 41%, bolstered by recent acquisitions and a solid organic revenue growth of +4%, despite some headwinds. Our total operating expense increased by 40% with the integration of ABG Group, but also a strategic investment in J.P. Wiser's Polar Ice Vodka during the year and efficiencies realized across the organization.
Corby has taken price initiatives to mitigate the inflationary pressure on cost of raw materials and finished goods. As a result, our Adjusted Earnings from Operations grew 37%, and our adjusted net earnings per share achieved CAD 1, reflecting a strong growth of 13% versus the prior year, despite higher interest charges related to the loan to acquire ABG.
Now, for the year ended June 30, 2024, Corby generated CAD 31.5 million of cash from operating activities, supported by higher net earnings, bolstered by recent acquisitions and a robust commercial performance, leading to a strong cash conversion ratio of 1.3. This operating cash flow included higher interest charges due to the loan and also higher tax payments, driven by timing difference over year and inclusion of ABG tax payment.
On cash flow from investment activities reflected the payment of CAD 136.3 million for the acquisition of ABG on July 4, 2023, and also the payment of CAD 11.8 million for the acquisition of Nude assets on May 2024. While our financing activities were mostly comprised of the CAD 23.9 million in dividend paid over the fiscal year two thousand and twenty-four.
Our resulting net debt position was CAD 105.8 million at the end of June, with a net debt to Adjusted EBITDA ratio of 1.8. Lastly, our general dividend payment drove high dividend yields over years at now plus 6.6% at the end of June, and a sustainable dividend payout ratio of 76%. Now, I would like to hand it back to Nicolas to cover Corby's strategy and to give a glimpse at FY 2025 outlook.
Thank you very much, Juan. Very clear. So effectively, to finish up, we wanted just to give a bit of color on our growth strategy, which is very consistent with our previous communication. For us, the main focus is really to drive the portfolio on our spirit side and to continue to gain market share. So really it's about leveraging our best-in-class brand activation and excellence in commercial execution.
I've mentioned many times the fact that innovation is a key driver. We need to continue to deliver successful innovation for our consumers. We usually target one third of our annual volume goals coming from innovation, so it's really important. And of course, we continue to drive efficiency and effectiveness for advertising and promotion activities.
While we do that, we have opportunity to accelerate growth and penetration in these fast moving categories. We definitely want to scale up in RTD. Cottage Springs is a flagship of ABG, and we want to make sure we can scale that up outside of Ontario. This first year of integration with ABG has been extremely successful.
We are now ready in terms of what we call route to market and field commercial execution across the country. We want to take some fair share in some growing category where we are not yet very big, like tequila, for example, with the portfolio that we represent from Pernod Ricard. Export, while remaining a small part of our business, remain an opportunity for us to scale up and accelerate.
We will have a very targeted state approach with regional activations with J.P. Wiser's. We are starting to make some very good wins in some key markets. We want to leverage also that portfolio going also premium or super premium as well. Growing value ahead of volume remains definitely a mantra for the company. We want to target price increase in a targeted way, and we want to protect the margin, and that's why we will continue also to leverage our digital AI tool to make sure we can optimize our promotional efficiency going forward.
And last but not least, we will, of course, continue to have in our roadmap what I would call the dynamic portfolio management, which is really about acquiring brands that could deliver fast growth. But also look at our portfolio and see if we can divest some less attractive brands in terms of growth. So this portfolio management, we started, of course, last year with the RTD scale segment, and we will continue to do so.
For the year ahead, of course, we know the market is relatively flat. We have a few headwinds, so we need to continue to be quite cautious. But really, the focus for the team is very straightforward. We will continue to target market share gain.
This is definitely a key element for us in this mature market, so that's a top one priority. We will seek to unlock the full potential of our RTD portfolio, including now the realization of ABG and Nude sales, with operational synergies throughout this successful integration. As I mentioned, revenue growth management and disciplined investment will remain a very important feature to protect our margin, and we are doing that successfully.
We will, given that target in mind, seek to, of course, increase our dividend payment, subject to board approval, but we want to do that with a progressive improvement of our net debt to EBITDA, as our earning will grow. So we keep very much this balance in mind and returning, of course, value to shareholder while managing the balance sheet.
Some of you maybe have heard about the route to market modernization in Ontario, which is really about the expansion of some alcoholic beverages like RTD, wine, and beer into grocery and convenience, so we will, of course, with agility, capitalize on this opportunity, in particular for part of our portfolio. It's early days, but this, of course, is an opportunity, and we will continue to monitor this customer pricing dispute that we have with our customers in Ontario the right way, so just to wrap this up, I would like, of course, to finish with maybe six key points regarding why invest in Corby.
We feel very strong about the business we have built, and really, Corby today is the largest publicly listed multi-beverage alcohol company in Canada. Our portfolio is the most comprehensive portfolio in the market, and we are very proud of that, and we think this is delivering value. We have, of course, the ability to leverage our close partnership with Pernod Ricard, who is a global industry leader.
This is giving us a lot of competitive advantage. I've mentioned the digital transformation. We've been heavily supported by the group, Pernod Ricard, to implement at pace and successfully this digital transformation. We have a clear strategic priority with the portfolio to continue gaining share across Canada and across categories, and this is really where we have to deliver.
Operational excellence execution, this is probably a big trademark for the company. We are known in terms of sales and marketing execution. We are attracting talent for that matter, and this is where we need to continue to deliver our excellence. And finally, of course, the company is delivering what I would call a financial consistency.
We are resilient no matter what from a revenue and strong cash conversion, and this is something that we also are very mindful. And we will with that continue to adapt our financial policy. We know the dividend is an important feature for our shareholders, and of course, we will aim to continue to grow that dividend over time with the earnings. So this is it for us. I think now it's probably the time to see if there is any opportunity for any questions that Juan or myself would be happy to answer.
Thank you, sir. Ladies and gentlemen, if you do have any questions at this time, please press star one on your telephone keypad. You will then hear a three-tone prompt acknowledging your request. And if you would like to withdraw from the question queue, please press star followed by two. And if you're using a speakerphone, please lift the handset before pressing any keys. Please go ahead and press star one now if you do have any questions. Once again, ladies and gentlemen, please press star one if you have any questions. And at this time, Mr. Krantz, it appears we have no questions registered. Please proceed, sir.
Thank you very much. Thank you for your time and your attention this morning. As always, Juan and myself remain very much available to take different meetings and calls during the month. We will seek to do so as appropriate. I wish everyone a very good day and week. Thank you very much.
Thank you, sir.
Thanks.
Ladies and gentlemen, this does indeed conclude your conference call for today. Once again, thank you for attending, and at this time, we do ask that you please disconnect your lines.