London, June 25 - British drinks retailer Majestic Wine Plc said sales growth was continuing to beat expectations so far this financial year, having grown almost 5 percent last year, as it posted full-year results on Monday.
The company reported full-year figures largely in line with expectations but with sales growing ahead of expectations, according to several analysts. It said a trend whereby customers bought higher quality wines was continuing.
Like-for-like sales rose 4.9 percent in the 11 weeks to June 18, the company said. Broker Numis Securities said it expected to upgrade its forecasts by 3 percent later on Monday because of the good performance.
Like-for-like sales were also up 4.9 percent in the 53 weeks to Apr. 2, Majestic said.
Broker Altium Securities had expected growth of 4 percent, analyst Wayne Brown said in a note.
Pretax profit grew 14.1 percent to 16.2 million pounds ($32.5 million) during the 12 months, which Majestic said represented its fourteenth consecutive year of profit growth.
Shares in the company, which climbed 3.5 percent ahead of the results on Friday, were down 0.4 percent to 378-1/2p by 0836 GMT, valuing it around 242.5 million pounds. The shares are up 5.5 percent since the start of the year.
"We believe that prospects for the future growth of Majestic are good," Chief Executive Tim How said in a statement.
"We are encouraged by our ability to attract new customers and see a continuing trend towards purchasing higher quality wines."
The board is recommending a final dividend of 6.2p, taking the total to 8.5p for the year, an increase of 21.4 percent on the previous year, Majestic said.
Majestic wants to continue to buy back up to 10 percent of its shares, and will be seeking permission from its shareholders to carry on that existing programme.