sydneyaustralian vintner treasury wine estates ltd said net profit rose in the fiscal first half reflecting growth in its luxury wines price increases and savings from a restructuring of its supply chains in the six months ended dec 31 the company said statutory net profit was 188 million australian dollars us131 million a rise of more than 70 stripping out material items net profit was a194 million a 19 rise earnings before interest tax and material items or ebits was a307 million up 17 net sales revenue was about a13 billion a rise of about 1 treasury declared an interim dividend of 18 australian cents up from 15 cents in the prior period the company said its ebits margin expanded 32 points to 239 progressing towards its goal of 25 or more our luxury wine portfolios in particular continue to perform exceptionally well across all markets and channels and the fundamentals of the category are expected to remain strong at these higher price points said chief executive tim ford however it said its cheaper wines didnt perform particularly well consumption and market rends for entrylevel premium wine in the us and the uk and its commercial wine globally were all softer in the fiscal second quarter relative to expectations contributing to volume declines in some divisions looking ahead it said it remains on track to deliver ebits growth and margin expansion this fiscal year with trading conditions for the rest of the year to remain consistent with those in the first half