Australian Vintage bullish on months ahead despite lowest sales in six years - results data

Sales from 12 months to end of June decline 1% to AUD257m (US$167.6m)
Improvement observed in second half after H1’s -7.4% fall
Target for fiscal 2026 set at between +5% and +8%

Australian Vintage is expecting a strong reversal in fortunes after having booked a 1% slip in full-year sales.

The performance, details of which were announced late last week, indicated a healthier showing in the second half of fiscal 2025, to the end of June. Six months ago, the wine group booked a 7.4% tumble in its sales from H1.

Despite the stronger finish, the financial year generated Australian Vintage’s lowest annual post-pandemic sales.

The results, which were the first for CEO Tom Dusseldorp since his appointment at the end of April, hailed what the company called the “highly successful” launches earlier this calendar year of the Poco Vino and Lemsecco brands. The former, forecast in February to become “the most exciting launch in [Australian Vintage’s] history”, received further amplification, described as “a game changer in reimagining how people shop and share wine”.

Poco Vino and Lemsecco have both had their sales budgets upgraded for fiscal 2026, to AUD15m and AUD6m, respectively, with the pair expected to be the “key growth drivers” for Australian Vintage “over the medium term”.

“AVG estimates that fiscal year 2026 will be a transformational year,” the company said. “The group is targeting top-line growth of +5% to +8%, reversing years of declining sales into growth and pivoting the group on a positive free cash flow trajectory.

“Already, the group is ahead of budget in July with positive early signs, ahead of expectations, of consumer adoption rates in the UK for … Poco Vino and Lemsecco.”

Poco Vino, which is packaged in 18.7cl bottles and is targeted at mid-week consumption occasions, has been lined up for expansion to the US and across the Middle East in the coming weeks.