Any one know why the share price for MJW has fallen off a cliff? They had a good year to March 2004 and prelim results are coming out soon. Don't tell me we are all so upset by Iraq that we've all stopped buying booze.

Worth a punt Harry?

So long as there was nothing in the budget to knock the sp even further, I reckon this drop is a little overdone.

Nasty.

N+1 Singer Buy 408.75 590.00 590.00 Under Review

Panmure Gordon note:
Trading update.
The group has experienced challenging trading conditions since the start of the 2014 calendar year and LFL sales growth has slowed from 0.8% YTD to flat and as such earnings are likely to be broadly similar to last year.

Outlook.
The group also expects a flatter profit growth profile next year reflecting investment in the business as it scales to 300 stores and capitalises on the digital opportunity. These investments will include new office space, a larger and more efficient distribution facility to handle higher volumes, establishing its own in-house e-commerce development team and increasing the size of its Commercial sales team. The group is also increasing investment in both staff training and in CRM and data analytics capabilities. FY 2014E results will be reported on 16 June.

Forecasts.
We anticipate a c5% downgrade to FY 2014E earnings to c£23.5m PBT and a c13% downgrade to FY 2015E earnings to £24-25m PBT. We will firm up our forecasts following a conversation with management.

Valuation.
Pre-downgrades the stock trades on a FY 2015E P/E of 15.6x an EV/EBITDA of 9.4x and yields 4.0%. The stock retains attractive long-term growth characteristics and we are inclined to view this as a blip – notwithstanding the need to invest in some of the older stores – and we reiterate our Buy recommendation but reduce our target price from 635p to 550p."

MJW Majestic Wine, gone long. Technical breakout on chart, Strong broker backing.

16 Jun 14 Majestic Wine PLC Investec Add 391.75 460.00 460.00
31 Mar 14 Majestic Wine PLC N+1 Singer Buy 391.75 - 470.00

StockMarketWire.com
Majestic Wines has reported an H1 pretax profit of £8.5m, from a year-earlier profit of £9.5m. Total group sales were £133.8m, from £130.2m. Its interim dividend was flat at 4.2p a share.

"Majestic has a compelling proposition with a differentiated model, strong customer service ethos and a clear strategy to deliver growth," said CEO Steve Lewis in a statement.

"The 2015 financial year is one of investing to put in place the building blocks to deliver future growth and shareholder value and we are progressing to plan."

Operational Highlights:

o Active customers up 1.9% to 643,000 (2013: 631,000)

o Average spend per transaction is £130 (2013: £127)

o Average bottle of still wine purchased at Majestic £8.02 (2013: £7.71)

o Market share gains supported by significant increase in sales of Picpoul from France, up 127%, Malbec from Argentina, up 41% and Rosé from Provence, up 32%

o Online sales increased 12.3% to £12.9m, now representing 10.8% of UK retail sales (2013: 10.3%)

o Sales to business customers up 4.9% to £26.8m (2013: £25.6m)

o Sales of fine wine (priced at £20 per bottle and above) increased by 22.0% to £9.0m (2013: £7.4m)

o Four new stores opened during the half (2013: 3)

Majestic Wine (AIM:MJW) - cracking little business but clearly changes need to be implemented http://tinyurl.com/mleowrq

i concur about this company, though the retail wine trade is notoriously tough especially with the supermarkets now having very diverse ranges in both quality and price

of course the staff at MJW are well-trained and knowledgeable, but what else can they offer that the supermarket does not?

StockMarketWire.com
Majestic Wine said total UK store sales for the 10 weeks of Christmas trading from 28 October to 5 January 2015, were up 3.7%.

Over the same period like for like UK store sales growth was 1.1%. This performance brings the like for like UK store sales growth to 2.0% forthe first 40 weeks of the financial year.

The Christmas trading period was particularly challenging characterised by increased levels of competitive promotional activity to attract customers into store and online.

Whilst Majestic traded effectively over the period the Company invested 50 basis points of gross margin ensuring pricing remained competitive in this more promotional environment.

Steve Lewis, Chief Executive, said:
"Majestic delivered like for like sales growth of 1.1% in a difficult Christmas trading period characterised by promotional activity and we are now focused on delivering our final quarter's trading. We anticipate this competitive pricing environment will continue throughout much of 2015."

Investec note yesterday:
"Majestic’s Christmas performance has fallen short of our H2 forecast with a far more promotional environment hitting margins. We downgrade FY15E PBT by 6% to £22m and FY16E by 8%. This is clearly disappointing as H1 results pointed to a stable business with positive KPI movements. With yet another downgrade, concern over strategy & future growth potential is likely to overhang the shares until the actions from the expected strategic update in June start to come through. TP and recommendation placed under review.
UK store LFL + 1.1% for the 10 weeks to 5 Jan, which is behind our H2 LFL estimate of +2.2%. While disappointing, last year’s LFL comparable was reasonably strong (+2.8%). However, the market was particularly competitive with increased promotional activity resulting in a gross margin fall of -50bps vs our H2 forecast of -14bps. B2B fared better according to management, accounting for about one third of LFL growth, with the real pressure on the direct to consumer side.
Downgrade FY15E PBT by 6% to £22.0m (FY14 PBT £23.8m). While sales comparables are easier for the rest of FY15 (an estimated LFL of -1.1% in the last 16 weeks of FY14) and with infrastructure investment weighted to H1, we now assume recent sales momentum and price investment continues in FY15. The company expects the competitive pricing environment to remain for much of 2015, so we cut FY16E PBT by 8%, though we still expect year-on-year PBT growth to resume as there are c. £1m of non-recurring costs in FY15E.
Target price and recommendation under review. 2015 was always flagged as a year of infrastructure investment. However, with yet another downgrade, strategic concerns and a question over growth prospects is likely to weigh on the share price. Key for improving sentiment, we believe, is that the actions from the expected strategic update in June, together with the recent implementation of CRM targeting and a £5 price point, kick start growth again."

StockMarketWire.com
Majestic Wines is to acquire Naked Wines for total consideration of up to £70m, which includes about £50m payable on completion in cash, plus up to £20m contingent consideration payable in Majestic shares.

Cash consideration is being funded by new debt facilities. Naked Wines is a customer-funded international online wine business to create an international, multi-channel specialist wine retailing group.

The transaction is expected to be enhancing to fully diluted earnings per share in FY 2017. Rowan Gormley, founder and CEO of Naked Wines, has been appointed as CEO of the enlarged Majestic. Highlights:

· The transaction creates a significant strategic opportunity for both businesses by sharing complementary strengths: Naked Wines' online and e-commerce skills and Majestic's national store network. The transaction also opens up attractive international growth in the USA and Australia. Majestic and Naked Wines will continue to operate as independent brands

· Naked Wines has an excellent growth track record. For the year ended 31 December 2014 sales of £74 million, were up 40% year on year, with an EBITDA loss of £3.3 million. It currently has over 300,000 customers funding over 130 winemakers, underpinned by large and growing wine markets

· The Naked Wines senior team will remain with the business and will receive over 70% of their potential consideration in Majestic's ordinary shares, which will all be subject to performance criteria

· Majestic expects to announce adjusted pre-tax profit of approximately £21 million for the year ended 31 March 2015

· The final dividend for FY 2015 and the interim dividend for FY 2016 will be withheld, with future dividends to be progressively re-instated by FY 2018

A radical move that was perhaps needed by Majestic but a shame that it has come at the cost of dividends in the short term at least.

Read our latest research note at http://tinyurl.com/mseew2u

StockMarketWire.com
Majestic Wine's FY pretax profit has slipped to £18.4m, from £23.8m. Revenue was £284.5m, from £278.2m. Cost of sales was higher, and gross profit margin was lower. Distribution and administrative costs slipped lower.

There was no dividend.

CEO Rowan Gormley said:
"Whilst my review of the business is ongoing it is obvious that we need to make investments to reinvigorate Majestic Wine. These investments will initially suppress profit in the short term but I am confident we can rebuild momentum in this excellent business.

"At the same time we aim to maintain the international growth trajectory of Naked Wine and crystallise the benefits of having the two businesses in the same Group. I am confident that we will create significant value for our shareholders over the medium term."

StockMarketWire.com
Majestic Wine has launched Naked Wines' Click & Collect service offering across the UK, enabling its 150,000 'Angel' customers the option of collecting their wine free of charge from their local Majestic store.

Following the acquisition of Naked Wines in April 2015 and in line with the strategy to share the complementary strengths of both businesses, Majestic Wine has been trialling Click and Collect in 22 stores across the UK for Naked Wines' customers.

To-date over 2,900 orders have been placed using the Click & Collect service. As a result of the success of this trial and positive feedback that has been received, the service will now be rolled out across the country to all 213 Majestic Wine stores.

For no extra charge, Naked Wines' customers can now choose to collect their delivery from any of Majestic's stores, which will hold Naked Wines' customers wine for up to five days. Alternatively, customers can still opt for home delivery, and in either case can select their preferred delivery day.

Naked Wines' stock will remain separate from Majestic's, so wines that have been crowd funded by Naked Wines "Angels" will still be exclusively available to them.

StockMarketWire.com
Majestic Wine is implementing a new pricing strategy throughout its store network and online, including removal of the six bottle minimum purchase rule.

This new pricing proposition has been created with the aim of making the shopping experience simpler and easier for both new and existing customers.

The decision to also remove the six bottle minimum purchase rule follows the previously announced successful trial in selected Majestic stores since Spring 2015 proving popular with both new and existing customers.

In addition, for this Christmas, if customers mix any six wines and spirits, they get:

· At least 10% off and up to 33% off all wines and spirits

· Money Back Guarantee - a full refund, without delay or debate, if you're not satisfied with any product

· Free delivery and free glass hire.

Interims http://www.londonstockexchange.com/exchange/news/market-news/market-news-detail/12582493.html

Stan

You're not drinking Wine now are you, you big northern jessie

he's stopped and hence the further slump
hadn't you noticed that yate's wine lodges have almost disappeared?