Corby Spirit and Wine Limited (CSW.A:CA) Q4 2026 Earnings Call August 27, 2026 9:00 AM EDT
Company Participants
Florence Tresarrieu – President, CEO & Director Juan Alonso – VP, CFO & Director
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Conference Call Participants
Nick Corcoran – Acumen Capital Finance Partners Limited, Research Division
Presentation
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Operator
Good morning. Welcome to the Corby Spirit and Wine Fiscal Year 2026 Q4 Financial Results Conference Call for the period ended June 30, 2026. Joining me on the call this morning are Florence Tresarrieu, President and Chief Executive Officer; Juan Alonso, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer. Hopefully, you’ve had the opportunity to review the press release, which was issued yesterday.
Before we begin, I would like to inform listeners that information provided on today’s call may contain forward-looking statements, which can be subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those anticipated.
Risks and uncertainties about the company’s business are more fully discussed in Corby’s materials, including annual and interim MD&A filed with the securities and regulatory authorities in Canada as required.[Operator Instructions]
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Now I would like to turn the call over to Ms. Tresarrieu.
Florence Tresarrieu President, CEO & Director
Thanks, Elad. Thank you. So good morning, everyone, and thank you for joining us to review Corby Spirit and Wine Fourth Quarter and Full Year fiscal 2026 results. Despite a challenging market, fiscal 2026 was very much a record year for Corby with a strong top line growth, continued momentum in RTDs and further market share gains in spirits. We delivered double-digit revenue growth with net sales increasing 10% on a reported basis and 11% organically, driven by continued momentum in RTDs and ongoing market share gains in spirits. These results reflect the strength of our portfolio and the consistency of our execution. Across both spirits and RTD, strong sales execution drove market share gains across our portfolio, supported in
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EY is urging its junior staff to get back into the office more often to sharpen the softer skills that industry executives believe will become increasingly important as the use of artificial intelligence grows.
The Big Four firm has not made any formal changes to its working from home policy, but confirmed that partners are reminding younger consultants about “the importance of meaningful time spent together” in the office for their personal development.
The consensus in the industry is that interpersonal skills are becoming a key part of the job, with AI equalising the technical work and data that firms can produce. Senior partners believe that how staff present that work and interact with clients will determine which firms win new business, and argue that those skills are best learnt in person from more experienced colleagues.
“This change we’ve seen in the last few years where people have set up their lives to be … at home a lot is just not the route to success in the world of AI,” Sayeh Ghanbari, EY’s UK head of consulting, told the FT.
She added that, with AI increasingly doing more of the routine work, human consultants will “have to be good at what we’re really good at, which is to be human. To build a career in consulting and develop all of those human skills … you cannot do that through so much remote work”.
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A spokeswoman for EY said that although the firm would not be changing its “longstanding approach to flexibility”, spending more time with colleagues in the office can “strengthen how our people develop their skills, build relationships and serve our clients”.
Echoes across white-collar Britain
Leaders in other white-collar industries have made similar arguments for in-person working. Jamie Dimon, the chief executive of JP Morgan, has long said that younger bankers need to be in the office to learn professional judgment from their seniors, while Satya Nadella, chief executive of Microsoft, believes the rapid rise of AI has made working at the office “even more important”.
The big accounting and consulting firms noticed that the generation of school leavers and graduates who joined during the pandemic were slower to develop the softer skills than previous cohorts of new starters, who had not been forced to work from home.
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In response, firms have put on training sessions to show junior workers how to present work and speak with clients. More senior staff, who may have lost some of their sharpness while working from home, have also been encouraged to attend.
Even so, most firms remain reluctant to update their hybrid working policies while rivals are still offering flexibility, and hybrid working remains entrenched across much of the UK workforce. For now, EY’s message to its juniors is encouragement rather than mandate: the office is where careers in the age of AI will be built.
Jamie Young
Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk
SAN FRANCISCO — Hugging Face, the AI platform known primarily as a hub for open-source software models, unveiled a small robotic duck Thursday that developers, students and hobbyists can train at home using reinforcement learning, marking the company’s latest push into affordable, open-source physical AI hardware.
The device, called Microduck, is now available for pre-order at $399, with shipments expected before Christmas, according to TechCrunch. The launch was announced by Hugging Face co-founder and CEO Clément Delangue on social media Thursday morning.
Hugging Face Unveils Microduck, a $399 Open-Source Robot Duck You Can Teach New Tricks Right at Home
A tiny robot built for experimentation
Standing just 25 centimeters, or roughly 9.8 inches, tall and weighing about 800 grams, or under 2 pounds, Microduck is designed less as a finished consumer gadget and more as a hands-on platform for people interested in experimenting with reinforcement learning and what the industry calls “physical AI” — systems that learn to interact with the real world rather than operating purely in software.
Delangue described the device in direct terms on social media. “It’s a tiny $399 open-source robot you can teach new tricks with reinforcement learning,” Delangue said, according to TechCrunch.
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What it can do out of the box
Microduck ships with seven pre-trained behaviors, according to a report from Tao Media: it can walk, sit, stand, kick, grab small objects, roller-skate and recover to its feet after falling over. The robot’s articulated beak doubles as a small gripper, allowing it to pick up objects weighing up to 800 grams. A game controller is included with the device to allow immediate hands-on interaction.
Beneath its playful design, Microduck is equipped with a substantial sensor package for a device at this price point. According to Tao Media, the robot packs 15 motors along with a wide-angle camera, LiDAR, microphones, a speaker, two inertial measurement units, near-field communication, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Open source from top to bottom
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Central to Microduck’s design is its fully open software stack. The robot’s software development kit, its MuJoCo-based simulation environment, and its full reinforcement learning training stack are published publicly on GitHub under an Apache 2.0 license, according to Tao Media. Even the seven behaviors that ship with the device can be inspected and retrained by users, meaning nothing about how the robot operates is hidden inside a proprietary black box.
That openness extends to how users can develop new skills for the robot. Because training reinforcement learning models directly on physical hardware would require thousands or even millions of trial-and-error attempts, likely damaging the robot in the process, Hugging Face and its robotics partner have built the system around a “sim-to-real” workflow, according to Hackster.io. Developers train new behaviors virtually in simulation first, then transfer the resulting policy onto the physical robot. Users can run that training locally on their own computers or through Hugging Face’s cloud infrastructure before deploying it to the device.
Part of a broader robotics push
Microduck is not Hugging Face’s first venture into physical hardware. The company acquired French robotics startup Pollen Robotics in April 2025 specifically to build affordable, open-source AI hardware, and the two companies previously launched Reachy Mini, a small desktop robot, months after the acquisition, according to TechCrunch. Hugging Face had also previously released open-source humanoid robots called HopeJR and Reachy Mini at a lower $250 price point.
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The broader strategy reflects a belief within the company that robotics represents the next major frontier for artificial intelligence, extending a technology that has largely been confined to software into systems capable of physically interacting with the world, according to Axios.
Addressing privacy concerns
The launch of a camera-and-microphone-equipped robot designed for home use raises familiar privacy questions that have followed other AI hardware devices. Delangue has previously addressed those concerns directly with TechCrunch, arguing that robots powered by open-source models offer better privacy protections than what he described as “a black box system” controlled by a small number of organizations — a distinction he said matters especially when the leadership of those organizations lacks stability.
Even so, open-source design does not guarantee complete data privacy on its own. Once consumers install third-party software applications on top of an open model, those apps can gain access to a device’s cameras and microphones, and depending on how they are built, could potentially transmit that data to outside services.
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Launch comes amid acquisition speculation
Microduck’s debut arrives at a notable moment for Hugging Face. The company is reportedly set to be acquired by Nvidia at a valuation of roughly $13 billion, according to a report from The Information cited by TechCrunch. Nvidia and Hugging Face have maintained a partnership for years, with Nvidia providing infrastructure support for the startup’s operations.
When asked about the reported deal, Delangue declined to comment directly on reporting that the company had hired bankers to explore a potential sale valued near $13 billion, according to Axios, and did not immediately respond to questions about the specific report of a possible acquisition by Nvidia.
Lowering the barrier to robotics research
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The broader significance of Microduck, according to those covering its release, lies in its price point relative to the cost of comparable research robots. Much of the current wave of interest in physical AI has centered on expensive humanoid robots and industrial systems that remain largely inaccessible to individual developers, students and hobbyists. By packaging core concepts like embodied perception, reinforcement learning and sim-to-real policy deployment into a $399 device, Hugging Face and Pollen Robotics are betting they can meaningfully broaden who gets to participate in robotics experimentation, much as the company’s model-sharing platform has done for software-based AI development over the past several years.
Some 240 people declared more than £1 million each in capital gains from cryptoassets in the 2024 to 2025 tax year, according to figures published by HM Revenue and Customs, with the group reporting £717 million in gains between them.
In total, 17,600 individuals made disposals of cryptoassets such as Bitcoin, Ethereum and Dogecoin that were liable to Capital Gains Tax during the year. Between them they reported disposal proceeds of £13.8 billion and gains of £1.38 billion, an average gain of £78,000 per person. Around 87 per cent of those reporting cryptoasset gains were male and around 13 per cent were female.
The figures, published as part of HMRC’s annual Capital Gains Tax statistics, are the first of their kind. HMRC has been able to isolate crypto gains following the introduction of a dedicated part of the Self Assessment return for cryptoasset capital gains, giving the tax authority, and the wider public, a first clear view of how much money is being made from digital assets in the UK.
Exchanges will hand over customer data from 2027
The disclosure comes as HMRC prepares for a step up in its visibility of crypto trading. From January 2026, the UK began implementing the Cryptoasset Reporting Framework, an international standard developed by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
Under the framework, cryptoasset service providers will be required to report customer information to tax authorities, and HMRC will start receiving that data from 2027, helping it to identify cryptoasset gains and income that have not been declared. Service providers that fail to comply may face penalties of up to £300 per user, under data sharing rules for crypto platforms that mirror the information banks already pass to the taxman.
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James Murray MP, Financial Secretary to the Treasury and Paymaster General, said: “Taxes are due on cryptoasset gains just like any other gains, and we want to make sure people making gains from crypto know about what taxes they owe.
“This important work is supporting the Government’s efforts to close the tax gap, so that everyone pays their fair share towards our vital public services.”
What business owners need to check
For company directors and the self-employed who hold or accept crypto, the tax treatment reaches further than many assume. Capital Gains Tax may apply when an individual disposes of cryptoassets, and that includes exchanging one type of cryptoasset for another, not just cashing out into pounds. Income Tax and National Insurance may apply to cryptoassets received through employment, self-employment, mining, staking or lending.
John-Paul Marks, HMRC’s Permanent Secretary and Chief Executive, said: “We want to make it as easy as possible for people to understand and meet their tax obligations when it comes to cryptoassets.
“As new international reporting rules come into force, it’s more important than ever for people to check they are paying any tax owed.”
Anyone with undeclared income or gains from cryptoassets can put their affairs in order through the Crypto Disclosure Service on GOV.UK. Gains above the tax free allowance for the 2025 to 2026 tax year must be declared, and any tax paid, through Self Assessment by the deadline of 31 January 2027.
Jamie Young
Jamie Young is Senior Reporter at Business Matters, covering SME finance, employment law and Westminster policy since 2016. He has reported on every Budget and Autumn Statement since 2018, helped make sense of the ‘covid era’ and the bounce-back loan scheme from launch through the fraud investigations, and broke the magazine’s coverage of the 2024 late-payment reforms. He joined Business Matters straight from completing his BA in Administration from Exeter University and is NCTJ-qualified. Reach him at jyoung@cbmeg.co.uk
BIRMINGHAM, ALA. — Red Diamond Coffee & Tea, a company that sources, roasts, blends and distributes coffee and tea and related beverages for retail and foodservice businesses, has hired Mike Mehrotra as senior vice president of its Away From Home Division.
As senior vice president, Mehrotra will drive growth and market share for products sold through foodservice distributors, convenience stores and national chain accounts. He also will oversee strategic operations, the company said.
Mehrotra joins the company from EY Parthenon, where he most recently was director and previously was a senior consultant. He also has held finance positions at McKesson and business manager positions at Capital Marine LLC.
“We are pleased to have Mike join us during this milestone year in our organization’s history,” said William A. Bowron III, executive vice president at Red Diamond. “His strategic vision, operational discipline and deep commitment to building strong relationships with our partners make him the ideal leader to elevate our business.”
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The company’s Away From Home Division supplies bulk coffee, tea, lemonade and related beverage solutions to institutional and commercial customers, Red Diamond said.
Three major UK airports have been hit by a “cyber security incident” in which criminal hackers accessed the data of almost nine million people and demanded a ransom.
Manchester Airports Group (MAG), which owns Manchester, East Midlands and London Stansted airports, said customers’ contact details, vehicle registrations and postcodes were obtained by hackers at the weekend.
MAG told the BBC the hackers demanded a ransom fee for the return of the data, which the group said it refused to pay. The sum of the ransom fee was not disclosed.
MAG said “at no point has passenger safety or aviation security been compromised” and the system hacked did not hold customers’ bank or payment details.
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The data of about 8.7 million customers was accessed.
The majority of the data accessed was restricted to customer email addresses and related to WiFi sign-ups within the airports’ terminals, MAG said.
MAG said in a statement: “We would like to reassure customers that Manchester Airport Group takes the security of customer information extremely seriously and we apologise for any inconvenience or concern caused.”
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Food-manufacturing giant General Mills announced that all of its U.S. cereal offerings are now created without “certified colors.”
The company said it intends to remove “certified colors,” which it notes are “also known as synthetic color additives,” from all of its U.S. products by the end of next year.
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“With all U.S. cereals – including Lucky Charms and Trix – now free from certified colors, 90% of General Mills’ U.S. retail portfolio has completed the transition,” the food giant said in a statement Wednesday.
Miami Beach, Florida, Bay Supermarket breakfast cereal aisle. (Jeffrey Greenberg/Universal Images Group via Getty Images / Getty Images)
“The company remains on track to remove certified colors from its full U.S. retail portfolio by the end of 2027, including fruit snacks and baking products,” the announcement noted.
General Mills previously tried removing artificial colors from Trix in the past but then ultimately chose to backpedal later and offer an option that included the popular vibrant colors again.
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“As part of a commitment to remove artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources from all of its cereals by the end of 2017, General Mills is releasing its first wave of new cereal recipes, which includes Trix, Reese’s Puffs, Cocoa Puffs, Golden Grahams, Chocolate Cheerios, Frosted Cheerios and Fruity Cheerios. The family favorites are now available in the cereal aisle at local retailers nationwide and highlight no high fructose corn syrup and no artificial flavors and colors from artificial sources on the front of each box,” a 2016 press release noted.
Golden Valley, Minn. General Mills World Headquarters. General Mills, Inc., is an American multinational company. (Michael Siluk/UCG/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
But then a 2017 General Mills post on X, formerly Twitter, declared, “Have you heard?! ‘Classic Trix’ colors are coming back to brighten up your breakfast bowl!”
“Our Trix fans have been calling us, e-mailing us and reaching out to us on social media asking if we would consider bringing back the original formulation of Trix cereal with its vibrant colors,” then-General Mills spokesperson Mike Siemienas noted, according to a 2017 Food Business News report. “As a result, we are launching ‘Classic Trix’ to fill these consumer requests. We will continue to offer our current formulation of Trix with no artificial flavors and no colors from artificial sources, which has its own fan base, along with Classic Trix. So both products will be available for consumers. Consumers have differing food preferences, and we heard from many Trix fans that they missed the bright vibrant colors and the nostalgic taste of the classic Trix cereal.”
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Boxes of Trix currently for sale on the Walmart and Amazon websites list “Natural and Artificial Flavor” on the ingredients list.
Boxes of General Mills owned Lucky Charms cereal are stacked at a Costco Wholesale store on April 4, 2025, in San Diego, Calif. (Kevin Carter/Getty Images / Getty Images)
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