Virgin Wines has reported a slight uptick in sales for the six months to December 31, 2021 (H1 2022). The company said today that revenue for the period was £40.6 million, compared to £40.59 million in the same period a year prior. EBITDA for the period slipped from £4.5 million in H1 2021 to £3.7 million, due to increased investment in new customer acquisition and additional operating costs as a listed business.

Subscription memberships increased by 7% during H1 2022 to 158,000, while the company’s active customer base grew to 185,000 – up by 9% since H1 2021.

Management also highlighted a relatively new partnership with Moonpig, which it said is driving sales in the commercial channel, as well as the launch of the BeerSave and SpiritSave subscription schemes.

Elsewhere, the company flagged “widespread cost pressures” including significant increases in the cost of packaging, labour, energy, shipping, glass and courier charges “all adding pressure to the cost base”.

“Wherever possible we are mitigating these increases through beneficial FX rates and driving efficiencies,” the company said in a statement.

Jay Wright, CEO at Virgin Wines, said the trading environment has continued to shift.

“As expected, the trading environment has evolved considerably over recent months, and given strong prior year comparatives, we have worked hard to maintain encouraging growth from our core sales channels, whilst maintaining strict discipline around our customer acquisition and our cost control,” he said.

“The second half of the year has started well. We continue to make progress with our strategic initiatives and remain in line with management expectations.”