Delegat’s lifts profit 10% but forecasts sales drop
Aug. 25 (BusinessDesk) - Winemaker Delegat's Group lifted underlying annual net profit 10% and is forecasting a massive
drop in British and European sales for the year ending June 2012 which won't be fully offset by increased sales
elsewhere and higher case prices.
“The next two years will be challenging, primarily due to increasingly unfavourable exchange rates and the persistence
of the industry's supply imbalance,” Delegat's told NZX.
The company's net profit before one-off non-cash adjustments rose to $23.9 million for the year ended June 30 from $21.7
million the previous year on a 5% increase in sales to $229.8 million.
The non-cash adjustments pushed the bottom line up to $32.7 million from just $200,000 the previous year but the company
said the accounting standards requiring such adjustments “do not provide adequate insight into the group's underlying
operational performance.”
Delegat sold 1.97 million cases of wine, up 1% on the previous year, and lifted its price per case to $116.72, 4% higher
than the previous year's $112.70.
Managing director Jim Delegat said the company successfully implemented price increases while continuing to grow retail
distribution in its key growth markets of North America, Australia, New Zealand and Asia/Pacific.
Case sales to Britain, Ireland and Europe fell 14% to 820,000 and the company is forecasting that will drop 27% to
598,000 cases in the year ending June 2012 and to 586,000 in the year ending June 2014. Overall, it expects total case
sales will drop 6.6% in the current year but will grow to 2,192,000 in the year ending 2014.
However, it expects to lift its price per case to $121.2 in 2012, to $122.6 in 2013 and to $124.3 in 2014. That will
mean sales for the year ending June 2012 easing to $222.9 million in 2012 before rising to $252.3 million the following
year.
The wine industry has been suffering from an over-supply of grapes for several years and Delegat's 16% rise to 35,469
tonnes for the 2011 is contributing to the glut.
Delegat's will pay a fully imputed final dividend of 8 cents per share, unchanged from last year. It doesn't pay
first-half dividends.
Delegat's shares closed yesterday at $2, up from the $1.58 year low but down from the $2.30 peak in April.
(BusinessDesk)