Business
FY24 Trading Update
FY24 Trading Update.
About this update from Virgin Wines Uk Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n\n25 July 2024\nVirgin Wines UK plc\n(\"Virgin Wines\", the \"Company\" or the \"Group\")\n \nFY24 Trading Update\n \nRevenue resilient, with EBITDA and PBT ahead of market expectations\n \nVirgin Wines UK plc (AIM: VINO), one of the UK's largest direct-to-consumer online wine retailers, is pleased to announce a trading update for the year ended 30 June 2024 (the \"Period\").\n \nRevenue was in line with the prior year at £59m (FY23: £59m), while enhanced margins and operational efficiencies, particularly in warehouse fulfilment, drove an improvement in profitability.\n \nEBITDA1 increased by 260% to £2.8m (FY23: £780k), with Profit/(Loss)1 before tax expected to be £1.95m (FY23: Loss £430k).\n \nThe balance sheet remains strong with net cash at the end of the Period significantly higher at £10.2m (FY23: £5.5m), driven by a strong bottom-line performance and improved inventory management. Gross cash including WineBank customer deposits totaled £18.3m (FY23: £13.5m) and the business remains debt free.\n \nDespite an inflationary environment and ongoing cost pressures the Group increased its gross margins to 31.9% (FY23: 29.6%), driven by the Company's unique sourcing model and strong cost control.\n \nNew customer conversion rates on to the Group's subscription schemes increased materially to 55.5% (FY23: 49.2%) and, in a similarly positive vein, cancellation rates on the Company's flagship WineBank membership service improved to 16.1% (FY23: 17.3%).\n \nAlthough customer acquisition has continued to be challenging, the rate of acquisition increased throughout Q4 whilst the Group maintained its disciplined approach, decreasing the fully costed cost per acquisition to £19.62 (FY23: £19.91).\n \nThe Company's new value proposition, Warehouse Wines, that launched pre-Christmas 2023, has started encouragingly with a particularly strong Q4, and an improving rate of customer acquisition. The business intends to make increased levels of investment in this key new initiative over FY25 and beyond.\n \nShare Buyback Programme Update\n \nFurther to the Company's announcement on 30 May 2024 detailing a repurchase of shares and the launch of a share buyback programme (the \"Programme\"), a total of 310,735 ordinary shares in the Company have been repurchased. These shares are now...