Naked Wines swings to a broader loss in the fiscal first half

In a report on Thursday, Naked Wines plc (LON: WINE) said that its loss widened in the fiscal first half, attributed primarily to a write-down. The company, however, expressed confidence that its underlying performance improved in H1.

Naked Wines was reported about 4% up in premarket trading on Thursday. The stock jumped another 2% on market open but lost the entire intraday gain later on. On a year to date basis, Naked Wines shares are still more than 100% up in the stock market.

Naked Wines books a £4 million write-down in H1

Naked Wines said that its net loss in the first six months that concluded on 28^th September came in at £8.1 million. In comparison, it had posted £5.4 million of loss in the same period last year. The wine retailer separated from Majestic Wine earlier this year that resulted in a £4 million write-down and contributed to a higher loss in the fiscal first half.

In separate news from the United Kingdom, British holiday and airline group, Jet2, said it swung to a loss in the fiscal first half as the COVID-19 restrictions wreaked havoc on demand for travel and tourism this year.

Adjusted loss before interest and tax, Naked Wines added on Thursday, contracted to £3.2 million in H1 versus the year-ago figure of £4.5 million. In terms of revenue, the online wine retailer noted a massive 80% year over year growth to £157.1 million.

The sharp increase in revenue, as per the Norwich-based company, was due to robust demand in the United States, as the Coronavirus pandemic continues to keep people restricted to their homes. COVID-19 crisis has so far infected more than 11 million people in the US and caused over a quarter million deaths.

CEO Nick Devlin’s remarks on Thursday

CEO Nick Devlin of Naked Wines commented on the financial update on Thursday and said:

“Looking ahead, whilst the economic outlook remains uncertain, we move into the second half with continued trading momentum, supported by a strong cash balance and with conviction in the potential to unlock further growth opportunities in all our markets.”

Earlier this year in June, Naked Wines had announced a remarkable 81% increase in April and May sales amidst the pandemic.

Naked wines performed slightly downbeat in the stock market last year with an annual decline of close to 8%. At the time of writing, it has a market capitalisation of £366.46 million.