Brick Brewing Reports First Quarter F2016 EBITDA of $0.9M

KITCHENER, ON--(Marketwired - June 04, 2015) -

• Net revenue increased to $7.7 million, from $7.5 million in the prior year
• Gross margin improved to 27.1% from 21.7%
• Selling, Marketing and Administration ("SM&A") expenses increased nominally to $1.8 million from $1.7 million
• EBITDA improved to $0.9 million in the quarter, vs. $0.7 million

Brick Brewing Co. Limited ("Brick" or the "Company") (TSX: BRB), the largest Canadian-owned brewery in Ontario, today released financial results for the first quarter ended April 26, 2015. Brick reported first quarter EBITDA of $0.9 million on net revenue of $7.7 million.

"Our owner brand volume was flat in the first quarter, against a backdrop of approximately 2% volume decline for the overall category," noted Brick President and Chief Executive Officer George Croft. "Despite the impact of a long cold winter, Waterloo volume growth vs prior year was over 11% while Laker volume grew over 3%, both strong results in light of the category headwinds. Seagram volume was down approximately 27%, the result of fewer brand listings at LCBO and timing of new product launches set for Q2 in F16 vs Q1 in the prior year. We have recently launched attractive new flavors in Seagram malt based coolers, and as we move into summer we are looking for improved performance in Seagram coolers and cider."

Sound cost control, improved product mix and pricing all contributed to improvement in margins and EBITDA in the quarter. Croft added, "The business is performing very well, and we are seeing great execution against our plan. As we head into the key summer months, we believe we are well positioned for continued strong results. Our new product introductions are resonating with consumers, Kitchener expansion is on track, and the coming changes to the beer channel in Ontario, including the introduction of beer into grocery, all seem to be clear positives for Brick Brewing."

The following financial information should be read in conjunction with the audited annual financial statements of the Company prepared under IFRS for the year ended January 31, 2015.

Reconciliation of Net Earnings to Earnings Before Interest Taxes Depreciation and Amortization, and Share Based Payments (EBITDA)*

Additional Information

For further details the Company's complete management discussion and analysis (MD&A) and financial statements for the quarter ended April 26, 2015 will be available on the investor section of the Brick Brewing website at www.brickbeer.com. This and additional information relating to the Company, including its Annual Information Form, is or will be available on the Company's website and on SEDAR at www.sedar.com.

About Brick Brewing

Brick is the largest Canadian-owned brewery in Ontario. The Company is a regional brewer of award-winning premium quality and value beers and is officially certified under British Retail Consortium (BRC) Global Standards for Food Safety, one of the highest and most internationally recognized standards for safe food production. Founded in 1984, Brick Brewing Co. was the first craft brewery to start up in Ontario, and is credited with pioneering the present day craft brewing renaissance in Canada. Brick has complemented its Waterloo brand premium craft beers with other popular brands such as Laker, Red Baron, Red Cap and Formosa Springs Draft. In March 2011, Brick purchased the Canadian rights to the Seagram Coolers and now produces, sells, markets and distributes Seagram Coolers across Canada. Brick trades on the TSX under the symbol BRB. Visit us at www.brickbeer.com.

Forward-Looking Statements

All statements in this press release that do not directly and exclusively relate to historical facts constitute forward-looking statements as of the date of this press release. Forward-looking statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "intend", "anticipate", "seek", "plan", "believe" or "continue" or the negatives of these terms or variations of them or similar terminology. Although the Corporation believes that the expectations and assumptions reflected in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these forward-looking statements, which are not guarantees and are subject to certain risks, uncertainties and assumptions, which may cause actual performance and financial results to differ materially from such forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements included in this press release are made only at the date of this press release and, except as required by applicable securities laws, the Corporation does not undertake to publicly update such forward-looking statements to reflect new information, future events or otherwise.

* EBITDA is a non-IFRS earnings measure, therefore it does not have any standardized meaning prescribed by International Financial Reporting Standards and may not be similar to measures presented by other companies. EBITDA represents earnings before interest, income taxes, depreciation and amortization, gain on disposal of property, plant, and equipment, and share based payments. Management uses this measurement to evaluate the operating results of the Company. This measure is also important to management since it is used by the Company's lenders to evaluate the ongoing cash generating capability of the Company and therefore the amounts those lenders are willing to lend to the Company. Investors find EBITDA to be useful information because it provides a measure of the Company's operating performance.