Brighton Pier ends first half above market expectations

Brighton Pier Group announced a 178% improvement in revenue in its first half on Monday, to £22.8m, as it indicated an above-expectations performance for the rest of the year.

The AIM-traded firm said that was also 33% higher than the same period pre-pandemic in 2019, and was driven by a “sound underlying performance” in all divisions, as well as the integration of Lightwater Valley, which was trading above expectations.

It said a consistent gross margin performance, the reduction in VAT and rates relief had enabled it to make progress on maximising earnings and paying down debt, with net debt reduced by 34% since the end of the last financial year.

The company said the outlook for 2022 remained “robust”, adding that given the “excellent” first-half results and a “strong” current trading performance, it expected profits for the 52 weeks to June to be ahead of market expectations.

Looking at the financials, Brighton Pier said group EBITDA was £7.9m for the 26 weeks ended 26 December, up from £1.9m year-on-year, with gross margins steady at 87%.

Profit before tax rose to £6.6m from £2.7m, and earnings per share grew to 14.3p from 7.1p.

The firm’s net debt was 34% narrower year-on-year at £8.2m, compared to £12.5m a year earlier.

Looking ahead, Brighton Pier said trading was above market expectations for the year, with the UK family entertainment market in a “growth phase”m buoyed by an increasing preference for ‘staycations’.

The company said it was able to mitigate inflationary cost pressures in the most part through targeted price increases and operational improvements.

Its primary focus was on organic growth, and in opportunities to add golf sites and exploit the potential of the Lightwater Valley acquisition.

“These excellent results show the popularity and cash generative nature of our diversified portfolio of entertainment businesses,” said chief executive officer Anne Ackord.

“The underlying trend for the first half is well above 2019 levels - a more meaningful comparison due to the pandemic.

“The period has also been boosted further by one-off VAT and rate benefits.”

Ackord said those factors combined resulted in the group trading ahead of market expectations.

“Looking forward, we expect the sales trends to continue, benefiting also from the opportunistic Lightwater Valley acquisition.

“We believe our asset-backed group is well placed to record an excellent result for the full-year and beyond.”

At 0930 BST, shares in the Brighton Pier Group were up 9.17% at 91.7p.