Ten Entertainment earnings rise as it continues to expand
Ten Entertainment Group
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16:34 23/01/24
Family entertainment centre operator Ten Entertainment Group reported a 9.6% improvement in total sales in its first-half results on Tuesday, to £41.4m, with its like-for-like sales growth rising to 7.4% from 3.1% year-on-year.
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The London-listed firm said group adjusted EBITDA was 14.2% higher for the 26 weeks ended 30 June at £11.2m, while group adjusted profit before tax was also ahead 14.2% at £7.3m.
Reported profit after tax grew by 22.1% to £4.7m, with earnings per share rising at the same rate to 7.19p.
The board declared an interim dividend of 3.7p per share, up 12.1% on the half-year distribution paid for 2018.
On the operational front, the board said the company had performed well during the first half, with strong sales growth and “good progress” reported on improving its customer experience.
It noted that its refurbishment was completed at the Edinburgh site, with two further refurbishments planned for the second half.
‘Pins and strings’ bowling technology was continuing to be rolled out, and was on target for 70% of sites converted by year-end.
Ten Entertainment also said it was encouraged by the early performance of its ‘HyperBowl’ product, and had reached an agreement for a joint venture with Houdini's to roll out escape rooms nationally.
A concept site was currently under development, to trial further customer innovations.
The company was also continuing to expand its estate, with Southport and Falkirk acquired in the first half.
In the second half, it had already secured a new site for development at the Manchester Printworks, with heads of terms agreed on three additional development sites as part of its 2020 pipeline.
Looking ahead, Ten Entertainment said it anticipated long-term like-for-like average growth of between 4% and 6%.
It said it would continue to expand its estate and improve its customer experience through inward investment and product innovation.
“Our growth strategy continues to generate record sales, profits and earnings for shareholders,” said Ten Entertainment chairman Nick Basing.
“Our new, strong management team have made a confident start and have accelerated the execution of our core strategy.
“We look forward to further tapping into the potential of our strengthening position in the rapidly growing experiential leisure market.”
Duncan Garrood, chief executive officer, added that the company had a “strong” first half delivering to management expectations.
“Operationally, we continue to make progress building an even better business and providing customers with an excellent experience,” Garrood said.
“We are excited about our plans to unlock the potential inherent in the business.”