Restaurant Group widens losses, warns on more UK Covid-19 curbs
Wagamama owner Restaurant Group reported wider half-year losses, pulled guidance and warned of the impact of further coronavirus lockdowns in the UK.
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The restaurant and pub company, which also owns the Frankie & Benny's chain, on Tuesday reported a pre-tax loss of £234.7m compared with a £87.7m a year earlier. Full-year guidance was withdrawn.
Revenue slumped to £227.2m compared with £515.9m in the previous year. For the 11 weeks to September 4, which included the government’s eat out to help out scheme, trading was encouraging, with Wagamama like-for-like sales rising 11%.
The company used to run 600 outlets, but in an effort to bolster its finances in the face of the pandemic it placed the Chiquito business into administration and offloaded 125 mostly Frankie & Benny’s sites on leisure parks through company voluntary arrangement, slimming the total estate to 350 restaurants.
“Whilst the sector outlook is uncertain, and we are mindful of recent restrictions across the UK, we are confident that the actions we have taken provide us with strong foundations to emerge as one of the long-term winners,” said chief executive Andy Hornby.
An exceptional pre-tax charge of £132.4 million relating to business restructuring and other costs was also booked.
The company said trading in the 11 weeks to September 20 was positive, with around 90% of its estate back in operations.