Alcohol retailer Endeavour Group says sales were up in the first half but so was its cost of borrowing, resulting in a lower net profit.

The owner of the Dan Murphy’s and BWS brands of bottle shops and 353 pubs across the country said it had $6.7 billion in sales for the 27 weeks to December 31, up 2.5 per cent from a similar period a year ago.

Net profit was down 3.6 per cent to $351 million, because of finance costs rising 28.6 per cent to $153 million.

Chief financial officer Kate Beattie said the costs included leases and debt interest expenses.

“These have increased due to the increase in interest rates, as well as an increase in our average net debt in the past financial year,” Ms Beattie said.

The group had $1.5 billion in net debt as of December 31, up from $1.3 billion a year ago, which Endeavour Group attributed to seasonality.

The group’s earnings before interest and tax was up 2.6 per cent to $661 million, with earnings from retail up 4.3 per cent to $436 million and hotel earnings up 1.6 per cent to $260 million.

“In H1, we delivered what we view was a resilient performance, particularly given the changing nature of pressure performance, particularly given the changing nature of pressure on customers and impact of inflation on our operation,” managing director and chief executive Steve Donohue told analysts.

E&P Capital retail analyst Phillip Kimber said it was overall a better-than-expected result for Endeavour Group, but he noted sales momentum had slowed so far in the third quarter.

The market didn’t seem impressed with the results, with Endeavour Group shares falling 3.8 per cent to a two-month low of $5.055 by mid-afternoon on Monday.

Endeavour Group plans to roll out a smartphone app called pub+ for its hotel guests before the end of the year and will continue working on its hotel renewal pipeline.

Fifteen hotels were renovated in the first half.

– AAP