Oyster Bay owner Delegat's sees European sales fall 14%

By Gemma McKenna

Published: 03 March, 2014

Delegat's, the New Zealand owner of Oyster Bay, has seen its UK, Ireland and European sales drop by 14% by volume in the six months to December 31, 2013.

But elsewhere the group's North American sales grew 15% while its home market in Australasia was flat.

The group saw sales to the UK, Ireland and Europe decline from 403,000 case sales to 348,000, a fall of 14%.

Overall Delegat's net profits dipped by 7.6%, as its NZ$17.2 million was hit by a 1.8% drop in sales revenue to NZ$121.2m, while the volume of wine sold globally was virtually flat with case sales down by 0.6%.

It said it achieved record operating EBIT of NZ$32.4 million (up 1%), along with record operating profit of NZ$20.2 million, up 5%.

Delegat's achieved sales revenue of NZ$121.2 million, down NZ$2.2 million on the same period last year, due to global case sales falling by 1% and adverse foreign exchange rate changes. It said the current unfavourable exchange rates were responsible for a fall in case prices to NZ$111.9, compared with the NZ$113.2 achieved last year.

In a statement, Delegat's said: "The directors continue to have confidence in the resilience of the group's business model and its ability to deliver sustainable earnings into the future. The group is on target to achieve operating profit in line with consensus of NZ$29.0 million."

Delegat's was founded in 1947 and played a key role in establishing Hawke's Bay and Marlborough as two of New Zealand's most recognised wine regions.

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