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Virgin Wines has seen revenues fall to £59m in FY23, down from £69.2m, as the group battled with economic headwinds and the launch of a new Warehouse Management System over the period.
As well as a fall in sales, profit before tax fell to £0.6m, down from £6.2m, while adjusted EBITDA fell to £1.8m, down from £6.2m.
Nonetheless, the group acquired 91.5k new customers over the period following a “disciplined approach” to new customer acquisition drives, whilst the cost per recruit was £11.99, one of the lowest recorded outside of Covid-19 years.
The group also agreed new partnerships with WH Smith Travel, Saga, Go Outdoors and OnTheMarket, and commercial revenue contributed 11.6% of total FY23 sales.
Looking ahead, in the first quarter of FY24, there was a 12% increase in year-on-year sales as conversion and cancellation rates continued to improve, and sales through core repeat channels were 15.5% above last year.
Jay Wright, CEO, said: “FY23 has been a year affected by a number of challenges, from well-documented macroeconomic headwinds to a number of one-off, exceptional issues, most specifically relating to the implementation of our new Warehouse Management System in H1.
“Despite this, we have continued to grow our WineBank membership, maintain excellent discipline in our customer acquisition channel and deliver a healthy balance sheet, remaining debt free with £5.5m cash reserves and much reduced levels of stock.”
He added: “Our unique wines, market-leading propositions and best-in-class customer service continue to support our base of loyal customers, and WineBank remains a great way for them to spread the cost of enjoying high-quality wines. Looking ahead, the implementation of a number of exciting new strategic initiatives following the completion of our Business Review earlier in the year will support our resilience, enhancing our ability to cater to a wider range of customers.
“More broadly, we remain confident in our longer-term prospects given the strength of the customer proposition and our proven business model. Our continued focus on profit, generating cash and driving efficiencies also positions us uniquely within the sector. These pillars will remain consistent elements of our strategy moving forward.”
