KEY POINTS:
Winemaker Delegat's Group has delivered a heady message to shareholders with a year of record sales, showing that a drop of wine can withstand a world-wide financial deluge.
The maker, marketer and exporter of Delegat's and Oyster Bay wines, with wineries and vineyards in Marlborough and Hawke's Bay, sold 1.45 million cases of wine for $165.3m in the 12 month period ended 30 June 2008.
Chairman Robert Wilton, in Delegat's annual meeting address to shareholders today, said that compared to 1.24m cases and $134.8m revenue for the previous year, an increase of 17 per cent and 23 per cent respectively.
The Group's earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisations was $55.4m against $38m for the 2007 year, an increase of 46 per cent.
Profit after tax (available to shareholders) was $19.1m, an increase of $8.3m or 77 per cent over the previous year.
Assets of $153.2m had increased by $40.2 million, while liabilities of $35m had decreased by $24m.
"By any measure the success of the company's performance is reflected in all of these numbers, which are both significant and noteworthy," Wilton said.
"Notwithstanding the uncertainty of world financial markets the super premium wine segment has shown not only resilience, but continued growth.
"Given the year to date results, your Board is confident that the year end results for 2009 will be in accord with analyst forecast of $24.7 million."
Managing director Jim Delegat said that over the five year period to 2008, the Group's share of total New Zealand wine industry exports by volume increased from 6.6 per cent to 13.8 per cent.
Export case sales now represent 88 per cent of the Group's total case sales.
Delegat's achieved export case sales growth for the year of 20 per cent versus New Zealand wine industry export growth of 17 per cent.
During the year the Group increased its in-market price realisation resulting in an average of $112 per case, 5 per cent ahead of the previous year. This represents a premium of 38 per cent against industry export earnings of $81 per case.
During the year Delegat's commissioned a new 4000 tonne capacity Hawke's Bay winery in time for the 2008 harvest.
There was a record harvest of 26,680 tonnes and it was very good quality.
Delegat's has three new vineyard sites under development in Marlborough totalling 204 hectares.
- NZPA
