Peter Lehmann Wines posts $4.9m half-year profit

Peter Lehmann Wines has recorded a half-year profit of $4.9 million, down 12pc on the same period last year.

The company says revenue decreased by 21pc to $27.6m as sales slowed in both export and domestic bottled wine markets.

The downturn follows last year's record result of a $9.6m profit for the full-year to 30 June 2008.

In a statement to the media, PLW said that since then "the economic cycle has turned and we are now facing vastly different circumstances".

"Revenue decreased by 21pc to $27.6m as sales slowed in both export and domestic bottled wine markets when trading conditions deteriorated and customers ran down inventory.

"Uncertainty in the outlook for the wine industry resulted in sales of bulk wine dropping by 81pc from the $3.1m sold in the first half of 2007/08."

However, countering the lower bottled and bulk wines sales the company recorded strong exchange rate gains of $1.8m (2007: $0.3m gain).

Compared with the previous corresponding period the after tax profit decreased by 12pc to $4.9m.