Punch Taverns profits fall to £49m
Punch Taverns has reported that pre tax profits fell by 23% to £49m in 2013 after revenue dropped by 7% to £458m.
In its preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 17 August 2013 the group, which has a portfolio of some 4,300 pubs, said that it has now disposed of 1100 non core pubs since August 2011.
In the period Punch reduced its net debt by £122m to £2.3b.
It added that it expected an improved performance in pubs in which it had invested. In the year 476 pubs received an average of £102,000 investments to change the customer offering.
The investments are primarily aimed at driving food sales. Punch has a five year target to increase food sales from 22% in 2011 to 35%. It estimates that it currently stands at 27%.
Executive chairman Stephen Billingham said: "We have delivered profits for the year in line with our expectations and returned the core estate to growth in the most recent quarter.
"We have made excellent progress in implementing operational changes during the course of the year and this is reflected in our recent financial performance. Pubs in which we have invested have shown significant improvement in performance and the core division accounts for over 80% of Group EBITDA.
"Expectations of future net income growth for the core estate remain unchanged from those previously announced, with a return to like-for-like net income growth of up to 1% expected in the 2014 financial year."
Former Punch Taverns chief executive Ian Dyson made non-executive director at IHG >>
