Virgin Wines posts small dip in half year profit
Virgin Wines has seen a small dip in half year profits after invested more in customer acquisition and was impacted by operating costs as a listed business,
In the six months to 31 December 2021, pre-tax profit fell to £3.2 million from £3.4 million in the corresponding period in the prior year.
Meanwhile, total revenue came in at £40.6 million, which was in line with the six months ended 31 December 2020, but up 55% on the same time in 2019. However, EBITDA declined to £3.7 million from £4.5 million at the same time in the previous year following increased investment in new customer acquisition and additional operating costs as a listed business.
During the period, Virgin’s subscription business performed particularly well with year-on-year income growth of 23% to £26.3 million.
Looking ahead, Virgin said the second half of the year has started well and that its new partnership with online greeting card and gift retailer Moonpig should drive sales in its commercial channel.
Jay Wright, chief executive at Virgin Wines, said: “As expected, the trading environment has evolved considerably over recent months, and given strong prior year comparatives, we have worked hard to maintain encouraging growth from our core sales channels, whilst maintaining strict discipline around our customer acquisition and our cost control.
“This result demonstrates the strength of the underlying business model, our discipline in acquiring good quality customers, the reliability of future subscription revenues from a highly engaged customer base and the ability to generate free cashflow as well as our award-winning consumer propositions, the quality of our wines and our outstanding customer service.”
