The latest on BROO

As regular readers of my blog (if such rare creatures indeed exist outside of mythology) would know, I am the proud shareholder of 120 shares in homegrown craft brewery BROO (ASX Code BEE). 

The entertaining story about I gradually acquired those 120 shares has been told in this blog previously, so I will not reiterate it again, suffice to remind people that BROO has been suspended from trading since early May 2022, that the shares last traded at about 0.9 cents, and that a board coup. by a large minority of shareholders forced out the company founder in March 2022.

Since that time, I bought a frame from the Reject Shop and put the original symbolic share certificate from early 2011 into that frame, and then hung the certificate into a very necessary but smallish room in my home, in pride of place.

To say that I am not counting on BROO to fund my comfortable retirement, or even an afternoon of boozing at the Kelvin Club (currently my watering hole of choice, as befits someone who recently discovered that they are descended from a Count), is to state the bleeding obvious.

Even if BROO was to suddenly emulate the ‘Poseidon Bubble’ from its current share price if it were to start trading again, the proceeds (not counting brokerage) would only at best give me enough to order a dozen bottles of decent but sensibly priced red wine from one of my favourite wine makers (eg Andrew Buller).

But that would be optimistic.

Nevertheless, as those shares still show up as some sort of blemish on my Commsec portfolio, I have little choice but to seek what amusement value I can out of continuing to follow the company on its journey of reinvention.

This is more than what BrewNews, a website dedicated to commercial craft brewing across the ANZ region is willing to do anymore. They have abandoned covering BROO, although their articles on the company from their archives have insights which would be lacking in my own blog postings.

Since late December 2021, when the changing of the board old guard started with the first resignation, there have been been at least nine appointments to the board, and eight resignations from the board. This has included at least three chairmen being appointed and then resigning, with the current (and fourth) chairman (the lyrically named Peter Pan) joining two months ago.

The release of the half year reports to December 2022 gave me some reading material this afternoon. It seems that the directors and other investors are willing to continue to either loan or invest equity in the business, and to keep it afloat.

More to the point, they are also talking about launching a new beer in February 2024.

Which is indicative that there are some people who are very optimistic who are currently leading the business through its period of divestment (ie the Mildura Brewery Pub and the Ballarat brewery site) and reinvention.

This pleases me, as I find following the ongoing story of this company, from when I first acquired shares in it almost 13 years ago, five or six years prior to its listing, quite fascinating.

My one suggestion to them is that they should do as the founder did back then, and offer everyone who buys a slab of beer from them ten shares in the company. This would be a good way of ensuring sales for the first batch of the new beer they are launching in February. I am happy to partake in such an offer, once more, enough though red wine is usually my poison of choice.