Naked Wines FY losses narrow to £4.9m

Naked Wines has narrowed its statutory pre-tax loss by 70%, from £16.3m to £4.9m, for the year ended 31 March.

This comes despite the specialised wine retailer’s revenues falling 14% to £250.2m during the period, which was reportedly in line with management expectations. 

Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA – excluding costs from stock clearances – stood at £6.7m at the end of March, down from £8.7m a year prior. 

According to the retailer, it had made “significant progress” reducing excess stock and cut inventory to £108m from £145m during the period. Naked Wine’s inventory liquidation costs amounted to £6.5m. 

The group also reported an improvement in its cash generation, with net cash rising to £30.1m from £19.6m, while free cash flow increased to £18.5m, spelling a rise from £6.7m in 2024. 

Rodrigo Maza, chief executive of Naked Wines, who joined last year alongside new chief financial officer Dominic Neary, said: “Over the course of FY25, we have taken big steps to stabilise the business, to rebuild the team, and ground our strategy in real data and insights.

“We are already executing with more focus, more discipline, and more conviction than ever. And while there’s still work to do, I genuinely believe we have built the platform to take Naked to the next stage of growth; FY26 will be an exciting year.”

The group said it would restart shareholder returns, proposing a £2m share buyback shortly after the results. It set out a new distribution policy targeting up to 40% of annual cash creation or adjusted EBITDA, whichever is lower.

The company highlighted cost savings of £15m already achieved in the first quarter of the new financial year, out of a £23m annualised target. It continues to target £40m of cash from further stock liquidation.

Naked Wines maintains that trading so far in the current year is in line with guidance, though the company noted the recent fall in the pound against the dollar could reduce revenue by about £7m and EBITDA by £1.2m.