REG - Virgin Wines UK PLC - Trading Update

Virgin Wines UKAnnouncement

17/07/2023 07:00

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RNS Number : 1387G  Virgin Wines UK PLC  17 July 2023

 

 

 

17 July 2023

Trading Update

("Virgin Wines", the "Company" or the "Group")

FY23 financial performance in line with market expectations; making progress
with strategic initiatives

Virgin Wines UK plc (AIM: VINO), one of the UK's largest direct-to-consumer
online wine retailers, today provides an update on trading for the year ended
30 June 2023 (the "Period").

Performance during the Period was in line with expectations, with total
revenue for the year of £59 million and adjusted PBT of no less than £0.5
million.

Virgin Wines maintains a strong balance sheet with net cash of £5.5m and no
debt.

The Company continued to successfully execute its disciplined strategic
approach to customer acquisition during the year, with more than 90,000 new
customers acquired during the Period at an average cost per recruit of £12.
This was an improvement of 9.2% year-on-year (FY22: £13.22).

Conversion and cancellation rates also trended positively throughout Q4, while
customer deposits into WineBank achieved a seasonal high of £8m at the
year-end.

Strategically, Virgin Wines remains focused on delivering on the core pillars
that have enabled the Group to generate growth and profitability consistently
for many years. Most recently, this has included further progress in its
commercial channel, with key strategic and commercial partnerships agreed
during the Period including WH Smith Travel, as announced on 6 July 2023.

As previously announced, the Company continues to develop a number of new
initiatives focused on accelerating its strategic development, which it
expects to complete during H1 2024. It is making good progress and further
details on these initiatives and the outputs of the Company's Business Review
will be announced at the Full Year Results in October.

Jay Wright, Chief Executive Officer of Virgin Wines, commented:

"Despite the inflationary environment, we have delivered results in line with
expectations. We have successfully maintained our disciplined approach to
customer acquisition, conversion and cancellation rates are trending
positively, and our flagship WineBank scheme continues to be resilient in
challenging market conditions.

Looking ahead, we remain confident in the underlying business model and
opportunities for future growth into FY 2024 and beyond. We are
well-positioned due to the uniquely sourced, high-quality nature of our wines,
coupled with our market-leading expertise and strong foundations, and look
forward to sharing more details on our strategic initiatives at the Full Year
Results."

 

- Ends -

Enquiries:

 

 Virgin Wines UK plc                     Via Hudson Sandler

 Jay Wright, CEO

 Graeme Weir, CFO

 Liberum Capital Limited

 (Nominated Adviser and Sole Broker)

 Clayton Bush

 Edward Thomas

 John Fishley

 Hudson Sandler

 (Public Relations)

 Alex Brennan

 Dan de Belder

 Charlotte Cobb

 Harry Griffiths

                                         Tel: +44 20 3100 2222

                                         virginwines@hudsonsandler.com (mailto:virginwines@hudsonsandler.com)

                                         Tel: +44 20 7796 4133

 

Notes to editors:

About Virgin Wines

Virgin Wines is one of the UK's largest direct-to-consumer online wine
retailers. It is an award-winning business which has a reputation for
supplying and curating high quality products, excellent levels of customer
service and innovative ways of retailing.

The Company, which is headquartered in Norwich, UK, was established in 2000 by
the Virgin Group and was subsequently acquired by Direct Wines in 2005 before
being bought out by the Virgin Wines management team, led by CEO Jay Wright
and CFO Graeme Weir, in 2013. It listed on the London Stock Exchange's
Alternative Investment Market (AIM) in 2021.

Virgin Wines has more than 700 wines and 150 spirits in its portfolio which it
sells to an active customer base of 176,000 members. It has approximately 200
employees and more than 40 trusted winemaking partners and suppliers around
the world.

The Company drives the majority of its revenue though its fast-growing
WineBank subscription scheme, using a variety of marketing channels, as well
as through its Wine Advisor team, Wine Plan channel and Pay As You Go service.

Along with its extensive range of award-winning products, Virgin Wines was
delighted to be named Online Drinks Retailer of the Year for 2022 at last
year's Drinks Retailing Awards, as well as receiving the bronze award for
Contact Centre of the Year at the 2022 UK National Contact Centre Awards.

https://www.virginwinesplc.co.uk/ (https://www.virginwinesplc.co.uk/)

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