Punch in line to meet FY expectations

Revenue fell from £277.3m in H1 2011 to £264.6m for the 28 weeks to 3 March. EBITDA declined to £128m (2011: £139m), while pre-tax profit stood at £33m, down from £41m the previous year.

The group reported a 0.8% growth in average net income per pub across its core estate of 2,946 pubs for the 28 weeks to 3 March, with pubs on its full substantive agreements in profit growth.

In its core estate like-for-like net income fell 2.1%, with net income per pub standing at £77,000. The core estate generated revenue of £200m during the period, producing a net income of £119m and EBITDA for the 28 weeks of £113m.

Across its 1,844-strong non-core estate, average net income per pub stood at £38,000, with revenue for the half year of £65m, total net income of £37m and EBITDA of £32m.

The group said it remained on track to dispose of between 400 and 500 non-core pubs for the full year. During the 28 weeks it sold 214 pubs, together with other assets for proceeds of £62m, £4m ahead of book value.

It invested £12m during the half year across 130 core pubs with a focus on improving the food offer and enhancing the customer environment. It expects to increase the rate of capital enhancement to c400 pubs per year and up the percentage of food sales across its core estate from c20% to c35% over time.
Punch said that the strong comparative numbers in the third quarter of 2011, which were boosted by exceptional weather and the additional Royal wedding bank holiday, were making trends in its current third quarter difficult to interpret. It said it had strong plans in place and expects to benefit from the Queen's Diamond Jubilee, the UEFA European football championship and the Olympic Games in the latter half of the year.