Winners and Losers: Wine giant rallies amid tough week for industry
There was a bright spark for the SA wine industry this week as one of the state’s top companies announced a solid sales run amid broader pressures on viticulturalists.
Australian Vintage – the owner of wine brands including Passion Pop, McGuigan Wines and Pocco Vino – topped the Winners list after a solid trading update and the announcement of a debt refinancing agreement.
The company said its second-half sales run rate was 10 per cent higher than the first half as the company returned to growth.
This included second-half cash generation of an extra $20 million – a turnaround from a loss of $9 million the prior year.
And the company refinanced its $128 million of debt facilities until March 2028, in line with the previous interest rate.
It was a bright spark of good news amid turbulence in the broader sector; InDaily last week revealing wine and liquor giant Endeavour Group would sell the famed Chapel Hill’s vineyards and heritage cellar door as part of a business restructure impacting numerous wine sites across the state.
The company planned to slash its grape production by more than 80 per cent in a bid to reduce investments in its grape growing portfolio, it said in a statement.
Video game developer Fortifai was another Winner on the back of positive sentiment towards artificial intelligence, but the market was choppy thanks to the on-again, off-again peace deal between the US and Iran.
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Traders remain tense over the potential for a prolonged closure of the Strait of Hormuz, which would drive up oil and gas prices and add to inflationary pressures on the economy.
The full list of Winners and Losers for the week ended May 29:
Data via Baker Young Limited analysts.
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