New Zealand wine producer Delegat Group has increased its forecast for full-year profits on the back of better sales and lower US tariffs.
In a stock-exchange filing, the Oyster Bay brand owner said it expects its net operating profit after tax for the year to 30 June to be between NZ$60m and NZ$62m (US$35m and US$36m).
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The group had previously forecast NZ$50m to NZ$55m.
The anticipated improvement in Delegat’s profits forecast is based on “stronger” sales of annual global cases, notably in the company’s fourth quarter, the NZX filing said.
Delegat also pointed to lower tariffs on shipments to the US from February, “which have remained in place at that lower level longer than anticipated”.
A “favourable foreign exchange” was also cited.
Delegat said it will provide further details when it issues its full-year results at the end of August.
In the first-half of its financial year, the company booked a 5% increase in net profit after tax compared to NZ$22.8m. Delegat’s operating EBITDA increased 6% to NZ$65.6m.
Sales revenue inched up 1% to NZ$178.7m. The business achieved 1.69 million global case sales in the period, a 3% increase.
When breaking down the company’s volumes by market, Delegat saw volumes grow in Australia and New Zealand by 16% to 414,000 case sales. The company sold a combined 553,000 cases in its Europe, the UK and Ireland reporting region.
However, sales volumes in North America, which includes the US and Canada, were down 14% at 721,000 cases.
Auckland-headquartered Delegat appointed Murray Annabell as its new chief executive officer almost a year ago.
Annabell has been with the New Zealand-based winemaker for over 20 years, including 13 years as chief financial officer.
