Brown-Forman

Performance indicators

2022: Loss of $52 million due to discontinuation of sales in Russia

The suspension of activities in Russia turned Brown-Forman into losses of $52 million in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022, which ended on April 30, 2022 of the calendar year for the American manufacturer of spirits. According to the statements, these cash losses are related to the impairment of the Finlandia vodka brand.

The impairment reflects the deterioration of our long-term outlook for Finlandia due to the suspension of our operations in Russia, a key market for this brand, the company said.

Vodka producer Finlandia lost $52 million in the quarter due to the cessation of sales in Russia

It also indicates that Russia was among the emerging markets for the company in fiscal 2022 along with Mexico, Poland, Brazil, Chile. Brown-Forman sales in the Russian market for fiscal 2022 increased by 7%.

Brown-Forman announced the suspension of activities in Russia on March 9, 2022. The company explained its decision by condemning the actions of the Russian authorities because of a special operation in Ukraine. At the same time, the manufacturer of alcoholic beverages noted that Russia accounts for about 1% of Brown-Forman's revenue, and the number of employees working in the Russian Federation is about 80%.

In 2022, the net sales of Brown-Forman reached $3.93 billion (+ 17% by 2021), which means that the company could earn $39.3 million in Russia.

In early March 2022, Brown-Forman also announced the suspension of recruitment for its own distribution division in Russia, which was supposed to begin work in July 2022. The company sold alcoholic beverages through partners.

Brown-Forman owns Jack Daniel's whiskey brand, Finlandia vodka maker, Canadian Mist whiskey, Southern Comfort liqueur, and several Italian, California and French wine brands.^[1]

History

2023: Coca-Cola bought Finlandia

In mid-June 2023, Coca-Cola announced the acquisition from Brown-Forman Netherlands BV of Brown-Forman Finland Oy, which owns the Finlandia brand. The transaction amount amounted to $220 million. Read more here.

2020

As part of the list of ransomware victim companies published on the darknet

On August 27, 2020, it became known that a list of companies and organizations that were attacked by ransomware operators was published on the darknet. Data Base contains a list of 280 victims of 12 different cybercriminal groups.

The list, for example, lists one of the largest producers of alcoholic beverages in the United States, Brown-Forman Corporation, which owns brands such as Jack Daniel's and Finlandia. Read more here.

Revil ransomware virus attack, financial data theft

On August 17, 2020, it became known that Brown-Forman, known for releasing Jack Daniel's whiskey, was attacked by the Revil ransomware virus, as a result of which hackers managed to steal 1 TB of corporate data.

The manufacturer of elite alcoholic beverages confirmed that the company was subjected to a hacker attack, but noted that file encryption, which, as a rule, is caused by ransomware viruses, was prevented.

Brown-Forman noted:

We are working closely with law enforcement as well as third-party world-class cyber security professionals to smooth over and resolve this incident as soon as possible.

According to Bleeping Computer, hackers stole 1 TB of data, including confidential information about employees, company agreements, contracts, financial statements and internal correspondence.

Whisky maker Jack Daniel's has 1TB of financial data stolen

As evidence, screenshots appeared on the Revil website confirming the hackers' claims that they own the company's secret files, correspondence, etc. The pictures show documents that date back to 2009. Hackers also published screenshots of database backup records for July 2020 - indicating that Revil had enough time and opportunity to discover and take possession of Brown-Forman data.

Revil hopes to receive a ransom, the amount of which has not been disclosed, in return the group promises to delete copies of the data. Brown-Forman says there are no negotiations with hackers and notes:

Protecting the privacy and security of personal information is extremely important to us. The company deeply regrets any inconvenience and problems that may be caused by this incident. Information security is a priority for Brown-Forman. We know that this news comes in a difficult period of time and can be confusing given the uncertainty of the situation.[2]

Notes