Hotel and liquor business Endeavour Group has delivered a strong first-half sales growth to an estimated $5.7 billion.
On a two-year comparison – that measures the latest performance against the last comparable pre-Covid trading period – sales were up by 18.4 per cent.
EBIT increased by 10 per cent to $461 million. The company says ongoing investments made to in-store and online customer experience channels strengthened customer metrics for both Dan Murphy’s and BWS stores.
Due to Covid-related store closures during the first four months of the financial year, online sales grew by 24.8 per cent contributing $603 million.
Through promotional activity in the lead up to Christmas, The My Dan Murphy’s program grew to 6.2 million members at the end of December, a 21.6-per-cent year-on-year increase. Beer and cider sales recorded a major decline compared to the previous year, with consumers taking a newfound interest in craft offerings, and gin and seltzers becoming more popular.
The group’s Dan Murphy’s store network grew by 24 stores to 257, with 49 refurbished during the period. The BWS network in partnership with Woolworths added two new stores and refurbished 17.
Referring to the “structural resilience” of the group, Endeavour MD and CEO Steve Donohue described the result as positive given the heavy impact of Covid during the period.
“With on-premise restrictions in place, the retail market remained elevated through the half.”
