Ten Entertainment H1 sales surge

Ten-pin bowling centre operator Ten Entertainment Group said on Wednesday that sales had surged in the six months ended 26 June, beating both prior year comparators and 2019's pre-Covid level.

Ten Entertainment said total interim sales came to £63.2m, up from £10.6m a year earlier and £41.4m three years prior, as group adjusted underlying earnings rose £28.2m year-on-year.

The AIM-listed firm also swung from a group pre-tax loss of £10.8m to an adjusted profit of £15.7m as adjusted group pre-tax profit margins improved from 17.1% in 2019 to 24.8% three years later.

Cash inflow after investments improved from £1.0m to £3.2m, while bank net cash improved to £700,000 from a net debt of £10.9m in 2021.

Looking forward, Ten said its sales baseline had put the group on a trajectory for a "strong" full-year performance, in line with expectations, but stated it was "mindful" of the impacts of the current macroeconomic climate.

Chief executive Graham Blackwell said: "Our sales growth is, and remains, very strong against 2019 and we have consolidated and built upon the gains we made last year. We now have net cash and have resumed our dividend payments while maintaining our focus on investing in the customer experience to continue our growth."

As of 1000 BST, Ten shares were up 5.19% at 198.80p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert ay Sharecast.com