Prosecco demand sees Majestic Wine profits sparkle
Majestic Wine has posted a rise in pre-tax profits of 4.2 per cent to £9.2m, in the six months to September. Total sales for the period were up by 3.3 per cent to £130.2m.
A significant proportion of that increase came from a spike in sales of sparkling wine of 39 per cent. The company increased its dividend five per cent to 4.2p per share. Online sales also grew by 8.3 per cent while active customers rose to 631,000.
However, like-for-like sales in UK retail stores were down slightly by 0.4 per cent. This was attributed to the timing of Easter and the Jubilee celebrations last year.
Majestic chief executive, Steve Lewis, said:
These results show we continue to make steady progress towards our strategic growth objectives and we are very well prepared for the peak Christmas trading period.