C&C to stick with US arm despite writedown

C&C chief executive Stephen Glancey has insisted that the cider and lager maker remains committed to its struggling US business despite a further writedown in its value pulling the group into the red last year.

C&C reported a net loss of just under €73m for the year to the end of February — down from a profit of €47.4m a year earlier — largely driven by a further €129m write-down in the value of its US business. While this was recently flagged, it follows a €150m writedown of US value two years ago, which led to institutional investors calling for a sale of the American business.

C&C has been selling its Magners cider brand into the US for 17 years, but upped its US presence with the €233m purchase of the Vermont Hard Cider company in 2012, but has continued to struggle. US revenues fell by nearly 34% last year.