* Net profit A$77.6 million vs A$100.9 million loss
* Revenue rises 8.1 percent on luxury, mass-prestige sales
* Demand for commercial wines declining (Adds CEO quote, details on wine sales, strategy, background)
SYDNEY, Aug 19 (Reuters) - Treasury Wine Estates TWE.AX , the world's biggest standalone wine company, swung to its first full-year profit as a focus on its more expensive labels began to pay off after a disastrous U.S. expansion drive.
The return to profitability vindicates Chief Executive Michael Clarke's strategy of building up Treasury's more lucrative high-end offerings like Penfolds.
Statutory net profit came in at A$77.6 million ($56.91 million) for the 2014-15 financial year, the company said, compared with the A$100.9 million loss it posted in 2013-14. Revenue rose 8.1 percent to A$1.96 billion.
"Our full-year result reflected the combination of portfolio premiumisation together with deliberate actions to improve the quality and strength of our earnings," Clarke said in a statement.
Treasury's unsuccessful expansion in the United States resulted in the destruction of thousands of cases of cheap wine in 2013. Clarke was brought in to transform the Melbourne-based firm from an order-taking agricultural company to a brand-led marketing organisation.
He has brought sweeping change, including selling off wineries, bringing forward the release date of Penfolds to take advantage of Christmas and Chinese New Year, and separating production of its commercial, luxury and mass-prestige wines.
After its success with Penfolds, the company focused on improving sales and marketing of brands including Wolf Blass, Beringer, Lindeman's and Rosemount, in the second half of the year.
Sales volumes of its luxury and mass-prestige wines jumped a collective 9 percent in the second half, surpassing a 2 percent lift in overall sales, despite the company withholding some Penfolds wines in an attempt to provide less volatile results.
While demand for the company's luxury wines is growing globally, it continues to face declining consumer demand for commercial wine in most of its markets.
"Reducing cost and complexity from TWE's supply chain is critical to defending volume and improving margins in this segment globally," the company said.
Treasury announced a final dividend of 8 cents a share compared with 7 cents a year ago. ($1 = 1.3635 Australian dollars)