Chapel Down eyeing 'exceptional' harvest as it reports strong first half
Chapel Down, the Kent-based wine producer, told investors this week it expects the 2023 harvest to be of "exceptional quality" with record-breaking volume and yield.
It came as the company revealed it continues to grow and posted an uptick in sales in its latest half year report to end-June.
READ MORE: Chapel Down gets go-ahead for £32 million winery and warehousing plan
Net sales growth in the first half, excluding duty, rose 21% to £8.4 million, up from £6.9 million in the first half of 2022.
Total wine volumes increased 6% to 721,000 bottles, with traditional method sparkling wine volumes up more than 32% to 428,000 bottles, the company highlighted.
The group's operating profit grew 27% to £685,000, while pre-tax profit in the half year was up 26% to £618,000.
In a statement, the company, England's largest winemaker, said the outlook for 2023 harvest was "very positive".
"No damage from frost was incurred, and the weather during the key period of flowering was favourable.
We have recently begun harvesting and expect the 2023 vintage to be of an exceptional quality and with a record-breaking volume and yield," it said.
"We expect it to be materially larger than last year's excellent harvest (2022: 2,050 tonnes) as well as our previous record year of 2018 (2018: 2,173 tonnes)."
The company also confirmed that it remained "on track" to double the size of the business between 2021 and 2026.
Andrew Carter, CEO, said: "Consumers' love for Chapel Down continues to grow with record levels of brand awareness and household penetration, as more people at home and abroad learn about our brand and our wines. This is fuelling strong and profitable growth across all our distribution channels."
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