Australia's Endeavour to exit wineries, slash dividend; shares hit record low (updated)

Virgin Australia Holdings

27/05/2026 06:56

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Endeavour to exit majority of winery and vineyard portfolio
Shares hit a record low
To reposition Pinnacle Drinks to focus on high-performing brands
Revises targeted dividend payout ratio to 50%-75% of underlying NPAT
By Rajasik Mukherjee

    May 27 (Reuters) - Australia's Endeavour Group EDV.AX said on Wednesday it will sell its wineries and vineyards, scale back its drinks business and cut its dividend payout to save about A$300 million by 2029 as it refocuses on retail operations.
Shares in the owner of liquor chain Dan Murphy's fell as much as 5.84% to a record low of A$2.9 and were last down 4.7% by 0400 GMT.
The overhaul includes exiting its underperforming wineries and vineyards portfolio, including Chapel Hill winery.
Endeavour also plans to invest more in refurbishing its 350-odd hotels, a division that has seen sales momentum slow down as consumers pulled back on spending amid elevated living and borrowing costs.
"We examined the business through a number of lenses and have made the tough choices required to deliver the group's next phase of growth," said Chief Executive Jayne Hrdlicka, who took over the role in January after steering a troubled Virgin Australia VGN.AX out of a challenging post-pandemic recovery.
William Taylor, chief operating officer at ETFShares, said, "Endeavour's decision to exit its winery assets represents a structural pivot in response to changing global supply and demand dynamics."
Taylor added that a reduced payout ratio may weigh on income-focused investors, but the market was likely to focus more on risks related to execution and the effective use of divestment proceeds.
The Sydney-headquartered firm will slash its dividend payout target ratio to between 50% and 75% of its full-year underlying net profit after tax. The lower end of the revised target ratio is substantially below 79% in 2025.
Endeavour is Australia's largest owner of pubs and bottle shops, including the Dan Murphy's and BWS liquor chains, and more than 340 hotels. 

     
  

    ($1 = 1.3953 Australian dollars)
  

 (Reporting by Rajasik Mukherjee and Kumar Tanishk in Bengaluru; editing by Alan Barona and Nivedita Bhattacharjee)
 ((Rajasik.Mukherjee@thomsonreuters.com))