New Age Beverages rises after drinks company zips past Street's 4Q revenue estimate

Shares of New Age Beverages Corp (NASDAQ:NBEV) jumped in pre-market trade Friday after the drinks company overcame an “extremely challenging” 2018 to post fourth-quarter revenue that exceeds the Street’s estimates.

In its latest quarter, the Denver, Colorado company beat the consensus forecast of $13.54 million to report net revenue of almost $14 million, up from $11.2 million in the year-ago period.

Investors were enthused by the results, sending New Age shares up 7.3% to $5.59 before the opening bell.

The company’s operating loss widened to $10.1 million in its latest quarter, up from $4.87 million in the year-ago period.

READ: New Age Beverages Corp shares pop on $85M merger with Morinda

In a statement, New Age CEO Brent Willis described 2018 as “extremely challenging” as the company spent nearly the entire year recovering from inventory shortfalls due to constraints on its working capital.

“Those impacts completely distorted the underlying strength of the firm,” Willis said. “Exiting the year however those issues are firmly behind us and we are a completely different company.”

In other news, the company’s gross profit climbed to $3.2 million in the fourth quarter from $2.6 million in the corresponding period last year, thanks partly to inventory being replenished following the recapitalization of the company.

Looking ahead, CFO Greg Gould projects that New Age will generate more than $320 million in net revenue in 2019 as the company advances the national distribution of its US brands and moves into international markets as well.

New Age, which is the maker of CBD-infused beverages, has been the subject of investor interest since last year when rumors emerged that the company might be acquired by The Coca-Cola Company (NYSE:KO).

Its portfolio of “better-for-you” drinks are sold under the brands Tahitian Noni, TeMana, Búcha Live Kombucha, Xing, Coco-Libre and Marley.

Contact Ellen Kelleher at [email protected]

Story by ProactiveInvestors