Sales rise at Virgin Wines despite ‘subdued’ consumer backdrop

Virgin Wines has revealed an increase in sales over the past half-year despite witnessing a “subdued” economic backdrop for shoppers.

The direct-to-consumer wine retailer reported that total revenues increased by 2% to £34.3 million over the six months to December 29, compared with the same period last year.

Chief executive Jay Wright said the company goes into 2024 “encouraged” by its recent performance.

Virgin Wines said it saw sales from repeat customers grow by 5%, with commercial revenues up 6.5% for the half-year “despite a subdued consumer economic landscape”.

The firm added that it saw a “significant improvement” in profitability after changes in the firm’s warehouse operations and reductions to delivery and logistics costs.

Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) more than doubled to £1.75 million for the half-year.

It came after the company swung to a pre-tax loss of around £700,000 in the previous financial year after being affected by cost inflation and teething problems in its new warehouse systems.

Mr Wright said: “We are pleased with our performance through the first half of our financial year, particularly our strong profitability despite the challenging trading environment, with Ebitda (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) representing over 5% of revenue.

“Following operational challenges last year, we made significant improvements in our warehouse operations, achieving a planned reduction in fulfilment costs, while maintaining an excellent next day delivery service throughout the busy peak trading period.”

Virgin Wines said it remains on track to meet current market expectations for the rest of the financial year.