By James Atkinson
Australian Vintage today reported a half year net profit of $4.4 million.
Announcing the result, chief executive Neil McGuigan said the continued growth of the company's three key brands was very encouraging.
"McGuigan, Tempus Two and Nepenthe increased sales by 19 per cent and these brands now make up 60 per cent of our total wine sales," he said.
"In comparison, for the six month period to December 2010, the sales of these brands made up 39 per cent of total wine sales."
"However, due to the higher cost of our 2014 vintage and some large bulk wine sales, the improved sales did not directly translate into improved margin dollars," McGuigan said.
The AVL boss said vintage had started and the early signs were positive.
"Yield and quality seem very good. As usual we will provide the market with an update after the 2015 vintage has completed," he said.