MAJESTIC WINE, the wine and beer warehouse operator, has predicted a record Christmas after like-for-like sales leapt 7.4 per cent in the first half of the year.

The group forecast a “robust” Christmas with like-for-like sales expected to grow by 7 per cent.

Tim How, chief executive, said: “We are looking to have a good Christmas and we will be selling more than last year.”

The company said that Bordeaux has sold “surprisingly” well. Majestic paid £1.5 million for a shipment of vintage claret from a supplier in Switzerland and bottles have been selling well at £19 each. Mr How said that shoppers had bought Italian and Chilean wines, boosted by a 15 per cent-off promotion.

The promotions also helped to push like-for-like sales at the retailer 10.4 per cent ahead in the six weeks to November 8. Last year the company was hit by delivery problems in the run-up to Christmas, when a postal strike affected its mail order sales.

Mr How said Majestic would continue to offer discounts on selected products, over Christmas. Wines from the New World, especially New Zealand and Chile, are expected to sell well, helped by discounts and wine-tasting sessions.

Yesterday Majestic Wine reported a 27 per cent increase in pre-tax profits to £5.01 million in the six months to September 27, as customers spent an average of £110 per transaction compared with £104 last year. The average price of a bottle of wine was also up, at £5.46 against £5.31 last year.

Total sales came in at £74.6 million against £69.1 million last time, while the interim dividend was increased a third on last year to 1.5p. The 7.4 per cent increase in comparable sales in the period comes on top of like-for-like sales growth of 12 per cent growth last year.

An 8.7 per cent increase in the number of internet customers in the past 12 months, to 337,000, also helped to boost the figures, along with a growing proportion of sales from fine wines costing more than £20 a bottle.

Mr How added that improvements to the range, as well as more corporate deals, which now account for almost a third of total sales, were also responsible for increasing sales.

The shares closed up nearly 3 per cent at 243p, as Numis, the broker, provisionally upgraded its underlying pre-tax profit forecast for the year to March 31 from £12.6 million to £13 million. It also raised its predictions for the year after to £14.5 million from £13 million.

Iain McDonald, at Numis, added: “It is a good growth business in a growing market, and is thriving despite the interest of supermarkets in this area.”

Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, however, repeated its “reduce” recommendation on the ground that there are signs that UK consumer spending is slowing down.

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Majestic's list of expected top sellers for Christmas

• Veuve Clicquot — champagne
• Oyster Bay — New Zealand sauvignon blanc
• Mâcon-Lugny, Louis Latour — white burgundy
• Louis Jaunay champagne
• Cuvée de Richard — French red and white
• Casillero del Diablo — Chilean merlot
• Oxford Landing — Australian chardonnay