You’d think that investors would have learnt to be pessimistic when it comes to Fever-Tree’s earnings. Chasing market share has come at a price of heavy costs and margins that have shrunk over the past five years. And the prospect of any relief to all that has been hit by rapidly rising inflation.
Higher transatlantic freight costs and raw materials prices mean that stronger sales won’t feed through to better earnings. The drinks group has guided towards earnings before interest, tax and other charges of between £69 million and £72 million for this year, below an analyst consensus forecast of £75 million. A margin that had been expected to return to growth is now set to be flat on last year at about 20 per
