Naked Wines plc

Half-year adjusted EBITDA was GBP 3.6 million, up 112% year over year. Management said the company generated GBP 10 million of cash in the half, completed a GBP 2 million share buyback in September, and ended with an GBP 8 million increase in cash versus 12 months ago. Gross profit margin was said to be up materially, with roughly half of the improvement linked to inventory liquidation differences and the rest to genuine operating improvements. The company also cited GBP 2 million of restructuring costs, one-off EPR costs that will unwind in H2, and GBP 2.6 million of inventory liquidation costs in the period. Guidance was unchanged: management reiterated that FY26 performance is tracking in line with guidance, expects the full USD 17 million of inventory liquidation costs over the next 3 years, and reiterated its medium-term target of up to GBP 14 million EBITDA and GBP 40 million of net cash from inventory.

Rodrigo Maza framed the first half as evidence that the new strategy is working, emphasizing structural changes, a strengthened leadership team, and progress on both acquisition and retention. He said the business is a “loop, not a funnel,” and that growth will come from better use of the angel and winemaker community, improved discovery, and more disciplined customer acquisition. His tone was confident and upbeat, especially around peak trading, referrals, and the rollout of new customer experience changes.

Dominic Neary focused on cash, profitability, and efficiency. He highlighted GBP 10 million of cash generation, GBP 2 million of share buybacks completed in September, adjusted EBITDA up 112% to GBP 3.6 million, and gross margin improvement driven by lower first-order loss, G&A savings, and marketing efficiencies despite duty and EPR inflation. He also said acquisition breakeven improved to 44 months from 75 months, CAC is down, member retention is flat year over year but up 100 basis points versus the end of last year, and revenue per member is slightly lower mainly because of geographic mix and some industry hesitancy.

The main investor concern was capital returns: questions asked whether the company should accelerate buybacks given the stock trades below intrinsic value. Management replied that distributions will continue under a policy of returning up to 50% of cash generation or LTM adjusted EBITDA, whichever is lower, and said one-off distributions are a matter of timing rather than intent. Another theme was the revenue mix between core and new growth customers; management said the COVID cohort impact is still flowing through, and that acquisition must remain disciplined and focused on quality customers with healthy paybacks.