TWE’s revenues declined by $127 million to 1.267 billion for the six months to December 31, compared to the previous year.

But the company said it was very pleased with the result as the comparable period included $78.2 million worth of sales to China, compared to just $2 million in the first half of FY22.

Today’s result is also well down on the $175.3 million net profit it posted in H1 FY21.

However, TWE’s premiumisation push allowed it to increase its net sales revenue per case by 16 per cent to $95.60. More than 80 per cent of revenue is now generated by its premium and luxury portfolios.

The producer of several high profile South Australian brands including Penfolds, Wolf Blass, Wynns and Pepperjack was subject to China tariffs of 175.6 per cent slapped on its wine in late November 2020, which are in place for at least another four years.

This prompted TWE to split the company into three divisions – Penfolds, Treasury Premium Brands and Treasury Americas from July 1.

For the six months to December 31, the Penfolds pillar reported a 16.3 per cent fall in net sales revenue to $382.7 million, Treasury Americas was down 8.5 per cent to $465.9 million and Treasury Premium Brands for 5.6 per cent to $418.4 million.

While Penfolds reported a 19 per cent fall in earnings before interest and taxes (EBITS) to $165.1 million for the period, Treasury Americas reported a 19 per cent rise in EBITS to $85.2 million and Treasury Premium Brands was also up 19 per cent to $39 million.

TWE’s chief executive officer Tim Ford the performance reflected the focused execution of the company’s strategic priorities and the move to three separate divisions.

“We are very pleased with our first-half results, where we delivered comparable EBITS growth of 28 per cent when taking into account the effective closure of the Mainland China market, while at the same time continuing with the implementation of important changes across the business,” he said.

“Each division is now on a clear and positive trajectory towards their respective long-term growth objectives, with the benefits of separate focus and accountability already very evident throughout TWE.

“Following the past two years of significant change within TWE and the markets in which we operate, we have shifted our focus from a mindset of ‘recovery and restructuring’ to one of ‘growth and innovation’.

“We have great confidence that by leveraging the unique strengths of our business – our people, our brands and our asset base – we are well placed to capitalise on the significant opportunities across the global markets in which we operate.”

In November, TWE announced a deal to buy luxury Californian wine business Frank Family Vineyards for $432 million as part of its renewed premium focus in the United States.

It also last year divested several US brands, which generated cash proceeds of about $300 million.

TWE this morning announced an interim dividend of 15 cents per share, fully franked, which represents a payout ratio of 66 per cent of NPAT.

TWE’s shares responded positively to the announcement, gaining more than 11 per cent this morning to $11.73 at noon.

Meanwhile, Santos this morning reported a full-year net profit of $920 million (US$658 million).

The Adelaide-headquartered oil and gas producer said the results reflected significantly higher oil and LNG prices due to the recovery in global energy demand.

It said this was combined with supply constraints across the industry due to lower capital investment through the pandemic, and three weeks’ contribution from its newly acquired Oil Search assets.

The company reported record free cash flow of $2.1 billion (US$1.5 billion) and an underlying profit of $1.323 billion (US$946 million).

Santos managing director and chief executive officer Kevin Gallagher said the record production, free cash flow and underlying earnings in 2021 positioned the company to benefit from higher commodity prices.

He said the highlight of the year was the completion of the merger with Oil Search to create a global company with a market capitalisation of about $25 billion.

“The merger delivers increased scale and capacity to drive our disciplined, low-cost operating model and unrivalled growth opportunities over the next decade – all with a vision of becoming a global leader in the energy transition,” Gallagher said.

“2021 brought global energy security into the spotlight with higher prices and a supply crunch in the wake of rapidly recovering demand and a lack of investment in new supply.

“It is vitally important that investment in new supply occurs and in a sustainable way. At Santos, we are focussed on supplying critical fuels more sustainably to meet society’s demand.”

Santos will pay a final dividend of 11.9 cents per share (US$8.5 cents), 70 per cent higher than the previous final dividend.

Santos shares lost about three per cent following the results announcement to be trading at $7.18 after the morning session.