Foley Wines swung to net loss amid oversupply of vintage and inflationary pressures in the last fiscal year.
The loss stood at NZ$4.1 million after revenue dipped 0.3 per cent to $66.4 million.
Foley Wines wholly owns Martinborough Vineyard, Te Kairanga and the Lighthouse Gin brand in Martinborough, Grove Mill and Vavasour in Marlborough, and Mt Difficulty in Central Otago.
“It became very evident that there was a significant oversupply of Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc resulting in deep discounting,” said Mark Turnbull, CEO of Foley Wines.
“The strategy we adopted was to remain focused on selling packaged wine through the channels established and assisting the retailers with additional promotional funding to keep the brands in the forefront of consumers’ minds.”
During the year, its grape harvest plunged 21 per cent to 6404 tonnes.
Bottled sales revenue grew 0.3 per cent to $62.5 million and case sales fell 4 per cent to 561,000. US case shipments surged 60 per cent to 133,000.
Meanwhile, the company expects trading conditions in New Zealand and globally to remain subdued, noting that there is still an oversupply of 2023 vintage cooped with macroeconomic challenges.
Over the next 12 months, the company intends to focus on reducing debt.
It also hopes to be in a better position in the next fiscal year, subject to selling last fiscal year’s vintage in a timely manner and having a normal vintage in the current fiscal year.
Established in 1988 as Grove Mill Wine Company Ltd, the company merged with Foley Family Wines NZ Limited in September 2012. Its major shareholder is Bill Foley, a major US wine industry investor. His company Foley Family Inc is a Top 20 wine company in the US, with 17 wineries there.
