Drinks retailer Majestic Wines uncorked flat pre-tax profits today but stressed that sales in its new financial year had begun to fizz.
Like-for-like sales rose 4.3% in the year to 2 April as the group coped with a tough comparison to the previous Millennium boosted figures.
Pre-tax profits as a result were static at £4.5m – a performance described by chief executive Tim How as “very satisfactory”.
He was buoyed by Majestics latest sales figures, which showed like-for-like sales ahead 17.4% in the 11 weeks to last Monday.
Among key areas of growth for Majestic has been the number of bottles of wine bought over the internet. Online trade now represents 2% of sales, with the 12,000 orders received last year having an average value of around £120.
The Watford-based companys mailing list has also grown from 225,000 to245,000 with growth in wine sales coming from the Loire, Spain and Australia. Despite the drop in champagne sales after the Millennium, the average customer spend remained at last years level of £102.
Nine stores opened during the financial year in Wokingham, Preston, Haslemere, Bath, Beverley, Glasgow, Darlington, Leeds and Woking.
A new retail warehouse is due to open at Filton, Bristol next month, while further store openings are planned at former car showrooms in Birkdale, Newcastle and Edinburgh.
Turnover rose 6.9% to £86.8m, while shareholders will receive a total dividend of 6.6p a share.
EGi News 25/06/01
