Delegat Group recorded a small gain in its Australian and New Zealand grape harvest but has enough stock on hand to meet its projected sales targets for the coming year.
The Auckland-based winemaker, whose brands include Oyster Bay, had a 4 per cent increase in the New Zealand harvest to 34,595 tonnes, while its Australian harvest grew 6 per cent to 2,760 tonnes, it said in a statement. Last year, Delegat's New Zealand harvest expanded 33 per cent from a weather-affected crop in 2015, while the Australian vineyards delivered a 56 per cent increase in 2016.
"This Barossa Valley harvest is one of the best of recent times. The New Zealand harvest is or very good quality albeit that the onset of harvest was delayed due to late summer rains," managing director Graeme Lord said in a statement. "The group has appropriate inventories to achieve future sales growth in line with guidance provided in the 2016 annual report."
Delegat is targeting a 9 per cent increase in global case sales to 2.6 million in the 2017 financial year and posted a 17 per cent gain in first-half operating profit to $24.7 million on a 6 percent gain in revenue.
The shares slipped 0.8 per cent to $6.15, having gained 6.9 per cent so far this year.
