Evans & Tate (ETW)

Shares / Stock Code

ETW

Stock Exchange / Sharemarket

ax

Evans & Tate (ETW) or ETW Corporation Limited is engaged in winemaking, viticulture, distribution and marketing of bottled wines domestically and internationally under its own brand and label. Its operation also involves processing, supply and trading of contract wine. ETW was listed on the Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) on the 22nd of December 1999. Its average annual revenue reaches approximately AUD$80 million. Its headquarters is located in Western Australia, Australia and to date; around 300 people are employed in the company. Evans & Tate operates mainly in five business segments: distribution network management, bottled wines production and sale, contract processing and supply of primary wine, viticultural services provision and wine tourism.

Evans & Tate, under its distribution network management segment is in charged of managing the company's distribution networks in UK/Europe, North America and Australasia for the deliver of its products to consumers and customers.

The bottled wines production and sale segment is engaged in producing and selling the company's bottled wines to wholesale, retail and licensed premises through its distribution networks. It also produces and sells bottled wines to direct customers via Cellar Door. All the bottled wines produced and sold by the company come with the distinct proprietary labels of Evans & Tate Wine Group.

For its contract processing and supply of primary wine segment, ETW processes bottled wines under a contract that clients under this segment can package and market the products using their own labels.

Under its viticultural services provision segment, Evans & Tate provides viticultural technical services as well as advices and vineyard development to clients such as growers to help them maximise the quality of fruit made available for ETW.

ETW is also engaged in the operation and promotion of wine tourism visitor centres in Yarra Valley, Margaret River, Griffith and Mildura.

Evans & Tate Company History

Western Australian wine industry idealisist John Tate founded this company in 1968. His son Franklin Tate has managed it since 1994. The company joined Australian Stock Exchange in December 1999.

UK grocery chain Mark & Spencer chose Evans & Tate Limited Western Australia’s only publicly-listed winery to produce new Margaret River and Western Australian range of wine in 2000. In addition, its 1999 Margaret River Shiraz won over all trophies for the best red wine at Britain’s International Wine Challenge and the Hong Kong International Wine Challenge beating 4875 other red wines around the world.

Evans & Tate Limited supplied Woolworths, major Australian retailer, for five years with 132,000 cases of “Justin Jackman” and “Orchestra” wine in 2001. Evans & Tate and Oakridge Vineyards merged that same year.

In exchange of two fully paid ordinary Evans & Tate shares and $2.50 cash for every five Cranswick shares, the company took Cranswick Premium wines in 2002.

In 2004, Wine Source was taken and the company continued to extend its distribution network. Cheviot’s ‘Long Flat’ brand and ‘Thirsty Lizard’ and ‘Kissing Bridge’ wine were distributed to US upon signing the agreement with Cheviot Bridge.

Martin Clarke Johnson was the company’s Chief Executive Officer following the processing services agreement with Fosters Wine Estates in 2005.

Mark Johnson was selected as the company's Managing Director and Michael Silbert as General Counsel and company secretary in May 2006. Griffith Winery in New South Wales Riverina was traded to TWG Australia for AUD$8 million. Rober Estate Wines purchased the company’s Mildura Winery for AUD$22 million.

Scott Street Portfolio, the company’s US distribution business, was sold to Avanti Fine wine Selections in a Management Buy-Out transaction in March 2007.