TREASURY WINE WARNS OF SLOW REBOUND

TREASURY Wine Estates chief executive Tim Ford has warned of a slower than expected rebound in the luxury segment of the market. Mr Ford told the company’s annual general meeting on Friday that, in particular, wine sales were behind expectations in its key US market, where bars, clubs and restaurants were once again opening for business.

Protracted lockdowns in NSW and Victoria had delayed Treasury Wine’s plans for 2022 around retailers and especially for its luxury Penfolds wine brand, while in Asia there were significant disruptions to key luxury sales channels across large parts of the region.

However, Mr Ford, whose

Treasury Wine owns a large portfolio of wines such as Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Wynns and Lindeman’s, was hopeful the continued rollout of Covid-19 vaccines would bolster growth plans for the year ahead.

“While the momentum in these channels is slightly behind, we remain confident that as vaccination programs gain momentum and restrictions ease across these key premium and luxury wine sales channels that we are well placed to execute our plans to deliver growth,” Mr Ford said.

Treasury Wine also revealed it was close to clinching a deal to buy more vineyards in the French region of Bordeaux to add to its sourcing for its luxury wine brand Penfolds. But the company, like others, faces challenges from disruptions to the global supply chain caused by constrained access to shipping containers and higher freight prices.

“Outside of these factors, our global business is performing in line with our expectations and we are pleased with the underlying performance of our divisions in the first quarter,” he said.

Treasury Wine shares fell 5.4 per cent, or 66c, to $11.63 on Friday.