Interim Results

Restaurant Group PLC 15 September 2004 The Restaurant Group plc Results for the six months to 30 June 2004 The Restaurant Group plc operates 255 restaurants in leisure parks, airports and high street sites. Its primary brands are Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito, Caffe Uno, Garfunkel's and Est Est Est Highlights* • Record pre-tax profit, up 40% to £ 9.8m from £7.0m • Earnings per share up 31% to 3.05 pence • Dividend increased 10% to 0.825p per share • Net debt reduced to £18m from £41.3m • First half like-for-like sales were 3.7% ahead • Strong start to second half with year to date like-for-like sales now 5% ahead • Nine new openings in the first half (six Frankie & Benny's; three Concessions) • Exciting pipeline of new openings for 2004 and 2005 * results are stated excluding exceptional items Commenting on these results, Alan Jackson the Executive Chairman said: 'We have produced another excellent set of results with record profits and earnings per share. Profits increased across all parts of our business and a strong start to the second half gives me confidence that we will have another successful year of progress. Our Executive team changes are now complete and I am confident in the ability of The Restaurant Group plc to continue to deliver excellent results.' 15 September 2004 Enquiries: The Restaurant Group plc Alan Jackson, Executive Chairman 020 7457 2020 (today) Andrew Page, Group Managing Director 020 7747 7750 (thereafter) College Hill Matthew Smallwood 020 7457 2020 The Restaurant Group plc Chairman's Statement Introduction I am delighted to report record first half profits for your Company which again demonstrate the success of the strategy put in place in 2002. This is the third successive year of posting increased profits and during the first six months the Group has made good progress across each of its three divisions. The Restaurant Group plc is a much stronger and better balanced business than the one that existed a few years ago and is well positioned to continue to maximise value for shareholders. We have a highly profitable estate with excellent opportunities for future growth in profits and cashflow from both the existing restaurants and our pipeline of new openings. Our primary objective is to grow shareholder value and we will continue to do this by adhering to our strategy and delivering a high quality product and standard of service across our estate. For the first six months each of our divisions produced growth in terms of profits and cash generation. Like-for-like sales for the principal trading brands for the six months to 30 June 2004 were up 3.7%. Leisure Parks enjoyed an excellent first half with a 17% increase in turnover, 24% increase in EBITDA and a 26% increase in profit. The EBITDA margin increased from 23.1% to 24.4% and the profit margin increased from 18.0% to 19.3%. Both Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito performed strongly and it is pleasing to see Chiquito's results showing significant improvement as the brand responds to the changes initiated over the past twelve months by the new management team. These results augur well for the future and additionally we anticipate further growth will be generated from our strong pipeline of new units. Our Concessions business has enjoyed a very encouraging first half, notwithstanding some disruption associated with the closure and redevelopment of our airside units at Gatwick airport's north terminal. During the first half, Concessions' turnover increased by 18%, EBITDA increased by 10.5% and profit increased by 7.4%. We are delighted that we have been selected to provide a suite of food and beverage offerings in the new balcony food court at Gatwick's north terminal. In total, we will be operating five new units on the balcony site, all of which will open during the second half. This means that we are now well positioned in all of the key south eastern, high passenger volume, airports. Against a fiercely competitive landscape with relatively low barriers to entry and keen price pressures, we are very pleased to report an increase in profits in our High Streets division. Notwithstanding a slight reduction in turnover we have, through an on-going programme of focusing on margins and operational efficiency, been able to deliver a 10% increase in profit. We will continue to focus on top and bottom line initiatives and will maintain our High Street estate to a good standard. Achieving these results is a testament to the hard work and dedication of the senior management team and staff. Results * During the first six months, the Group has made progress in all key areas. Turnover increased by 10% to £118.0m (2003: £107.6m), EBITDA increased by 20% to £18.3m (2003: £15.2m) and profit before tax and exceptional items increased by almost 40% to £9.8m (2003: £7.0m). Adjusted earnings per share were 31.5% higher at 3.05p (2003: 2.32p). Cash generation was particularly strong and, whilst we continued to make significant capital investment in our business, we have further reduced net debt to £18m. It is particularly pleasing to be able to report that the 40% increase in profit befoe tax has principally been generated from four sources, as follows: • Strong like-for-like growth from the existing estate; • Consistently strong performances from new restaurants; • Cost savings resulting from purchasing initiatives and operational efficiencies; and • Reduced interest charges In light of this excellent performance, the Board is declaring an interim dividend of 0.825p per share (2003: 0.75p), representing an increase of 10%. The dividend will be paid on 29 October 2004 to shareholders on the register on 24 September 2004 and the shares will be marked ex-dividend on 22 September 2004. * Results are stated excluding exceptional items Exceptional Items Exceptional items amounted to £0.74m net (2003: £0.27m) and reflect an exceptional write-back of costs associated with the offer for ASK amounting to £0.36m and an exceptional charge of £1.1m with respect to a loss/provision for loss in respect of property disposals. Properties The group regularly reviews its property portfolio to ensure it is maximising opportunities in its estate. During the period three units were sold with net cash proceeds of £2.1m raised. Where restaurant units are underperforming we initiate and implement specific action programmes. In cases where the underperformance continues we would normally earmark such units for disposal. During the first half we sold or earmarked for sale a number of units - all of these disposals are expected to be value accretive for the Group. Financing Following the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 14 January 2004, the Company placed 19,430,000 shares (representing approximately 10% of the then existing share capital) on 15 January 2004, at a price of 71p per share which represented a discount of 1.4% to the closing mid-market price on 17 December 2003 (the last Dealing Day prior to the announcement of the Placing). The Placing raised £13.4m net of expenses, further reduced the Group's net debt and will be used to fund the continued roll-out of the Group's successful branded restaurant concepts. Cashflow and Balance Sheet The Group continues to be strongly cash generative and during the six months to 30 June 2004 the Group increased its operating cash flow to £18.5m (2003: £14.6m). We are particularly encouraged by the high rate of conversion of profit into cash. Capital expenditure in the period amounted to £10.2m (2003: £9.9m) and £0.8m (2003: £1.0m) was absorbed by debt servicing. Net debt was further reduced to £18.0m at 30 June 2004 (2003: £41.3m) and interest charges were covered 13 times by operating profit (2003: 6.8 times) Review of Operations Leisure Parks Total turnover: £57.5m Profit: £11.1m Operating margin: 19.3% Frankie & Benny's Units: 92 Turnover: £44.7m Like-for-like sales: +6.7% Frankie & Benny's has enjoyed another good trading period with strong growth in turnover, EBITDA and profit. During the first six months of 2004 profit increased by 25%. Excellent like-for-like sales growth has been complemented by good results from new restaurant openings in 2003 and 2004. During the first half six new sites opened and we are delighted with the performance of each of them. Up to 10 further openings are planned for the second half of the year. Chiquito Units: 24 Turnover: £12.8m Like-for-like sales: +2.8% We are particularly pleased with the turnaround in Chiquito's performance. Like-for-like sales have steadily improved and this improvement accelerated from the end of the first quarter. The new management team which was installed in mid-2003 has worked hard to stabilise and rebuild the business. Close attention to service standards, quality, authenticity and freshness of the offering combined with a well thought through and carefully executed remodelling and refurbishment of several units has begun to deliver very good results. We believe that this revitalised offering and better trained, motivated and incentivised staff are capable of delivering the Chiquito offering to a wider customer base. To date, 8 branches have been refreshed with a softer, more contemporary design and we plan to continue the programme of refurbishments during the remainder of the year. The Concession Connection Units: 30 Total turnover: £21.1m Like-for-like sales: +7.9% Profit: £2.8m Operating margin: 13.3% Our Concessions business, principally operating out of UK airports, has seen good sales growth largely as a result of increasing passenger numbers at the main UK airports. We continue to bring new catering ideas to airports, developing quicker and lighter offerings to complement the traditional 'full service concept'. During the first half we opened three new units, two in Heathrow and one in Gatwick. Taking into account the two units which closed during the first half (as the concessions expired) we have seen a net increase of one unit during the first six months. We have just completed the opening of five new units at the Gatwick North terminal and these reflect a diverse offering for travellers, including a juice bar, a sushi offering and a quality sandwich offering together with the more traditional Garfunkel's restaurant. At present, we anticipate that we will open a total of eight to ten units in the second half and that approximately two units will close (as concessions expire). Part of the future growth of our Concessions business may involve operating third party branded sites under franchise style arrangements. Currently we have four such units - two O'Neills bars (a Mitchells & Butler brand), a Yo! Sushi and an EAT (sandwich offering). The impact of these franchise fees will affect margins but the incremental impact on profitability and return on investment justifies this approach to further developing our business. High Street Restaurants Total turnover: £39.4m Profit: £5.4m Operating margin: 13.7% The High Streets division experienced a relatively stable first half with static like-for-like sales. This division operates in a very competitive area and our focus on quality of product and service standards continues. We have recently strengthened the High Streets senior operational management team with the appointment of an Operations Director with overall responsibility for Garfunkel's and Caffe Uno. Garfunkel's Units: 30 Turnover: £12.0m Like-for-like sales: +4.5% Celebrating its 25th year, Garfunkel's has continued to deliver strong sales growth and profit conversion. During the first half, we have benefited from an increase in the number of tourists and have also trialled a refreshed Garfunkel's format in two of our London restaurants. Like-for-like sales growth of 4.5% in the highly competitive High Street trading environment is a creditable performance. Caffe Uno Units: 60 Turnover: £18.9m Like-for-like sales: -0.7% Caffe Uno operates in the most competitive of our markets, and although the like-for-like performance saw a marginal decline in the first six months of 2004 we are pleased that the improvements in cost controls have resulted in a much improved profit. Est Est Est Units: 19 Turnover: £8.6m Like-for-like sales: -3.9% Whilst Est Est Est saw disappointing like-for-like sales, the profit of the brand remained flat reflecting improved cost control. In May 2004 we placed Est Est Est under the stewardship of Trish Corzine who has successfully developed this brand within the airports over recent years. We expect to stabilise and turnaround the performance of this business. Non-Core Brands Total turnover: £0.1m Loss: (£0.7m) We have continued to pursue a judicious programme of disposing of non-core units. This has, in several cases, resulted in eliminating loss making (or marginal) units from the business whilst generating cash via the disposal proceeds. We have also disposed of a number of non-core units which previously made a profit contribution - this has the effect of increasing the aggregate losses from non-core units but does, of course, have significant benefits in terms of generating cash proceeds for the Group thus saving interest costs. We will continue to take steps to mitigate the losses in our non-core brands. Board Changes Over the past twelve months, our Board has undergone a series of changes as we have sought to build a team to take the Group forward into an exciting phase of accelerated development and growth. During 2003 we brought Kevin Bacon and Trish Corzine onto the Board and in December 2003 Andrew Page, who joined the Group in June 2001 as Finance Director, was appointed Group Managing Director. In March this year we appointed Bob Ivell, formerly Chairman of S&N Retail, as non-executive Director. We recently announced the appointment of Stephen Critoph, who was previously with the Compass Group, as Finance Director and he will join us at the end of this month. This means that our executive team is now complete and I have great confidence in the team's ability to deliver excellent results. Future prospects We have made a splendid start to the year and our current trading pattern demonstrates a further improvement on the first half with year to date like-for-like sales currently 5% ahead. We have some very exciting new restaurant openings coming on stream in the second half and a strong pipeline thereafter. I have previously described the rigour involved in our assessment of investment opportunities; the consistently strong performance and sustained high returns from recent years' openings vindicates this approach. We have an excellent business operating across three distinct segments, an extremely able senior management team, strong finances and a robust strategy. This gives me great confidence in the ability of The Restaurant Group plc to continue to deliver excellent results and I look forward to reporting further good progress for the full year. Alan M. Jackson Executive Chairman 14 September 2004 THE RESTAURANT GROUP PLC Segmental Analysis Six months ended 30 June 2004 (unaudited) Six months ended 30 June 2003 (unaudited) Turnover EBITDA EBITDA Profit Profit Turnover EBITDA EBITDA Profit Profit Margin Margin Margin Margin £'000 £'000 % £'000 % £'000 £'000 % £'000 % Leisure Parks 57,469 14,017 24.4% 11,108 19.3% 49,041 11,310 23.1% 8,825 18.0% Concessions 21,128 4,223 20.0% 2,820 13.3% 17,872 3,823 21.4% 2,626 14.7% High Street Restaurants 39,400 8,329 21.1% 5,388 13.7% 39,979 7,578 19.0% 4,887 12.2% Principal Trading Brands 117,997 26,569 22.5% 19,316 16.4% 106,892 22,711 21.2% 16,338 15.3% Non core Brands 39 (617) (1591.1%) (737) (1899.5%) 718 (342) (47.6%) (562) (78.3%) Total all Brands 118,036 25,952 22.0% 18,579 15.7% 107,610 22,369 20.8% 15,776 14.7% Pre-opening Costs (320) (0.3%) (320) (0.3%) (255) (0.2%) (255) (0.2%) Administration (7,302) (6.2%) (7,688) (6.5%) (6,871) (6.4%) (7,311) (6.8%) EBITDA / Operating Profit 18,330 15.5% 10,571 9.0% 15,243 14.2% 8,210 7.6% Interest Charges (798) (1,201) Profit before Taxation and 9,773 7,009 Exceptional Items Exceptional Items (note 2) (740) (270) Profit on ordinary activities 9,033 6,739 before Taxation THE RESTAURANT GROUP PLC Group Profit and Loss Account Six months Year ended ended 30 June 31 December Six months ended 30 June 2004 2003 2003 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) Before exceptional Exceptional items items Total Total Total Note £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 £'000 Turnover 118,036 - 118,036 107,610 227,438 Cost of sales: Excluding pre-opening costs (99,457) - (99,457) (91,834) (190,849) Pre-opening costs (320) - (320) (255) (403) (99,777) - (99,777) (92,089) (191,252) Gross profit 18,259 - 18,259 15,521 36,186 Administrative expenses: Excluding exceptional items (7,688) - (7,688) (7,311) (14,393) Exceptional items 2 - 357 357 - (1,630) (7,688) 357 (7,331) (7,311) (16,023) Operating profit 10,571 357 10,928 8,210 20,163 Loss and provision for loss on disposal 2 - (1,097) (1,097) (270) (983) of tangible fixed assets Net interest payable (798) - (798) (1,201) (2,539) Profit on ordinary activities before 9,773 (740) 9,033 6,739 16,641 taxation Tax on profit on ordinary activities 3 (3,302) 182 (3,120) (2,381) (5,606) Profit on ordinary activities after 6,471 (558) 5,913 4,358 11,035 taxation Dividends 4 (1,765) - (1,765) (1,457) (7,655) Retained profit for the period 4,706 (558) 4,148 2,901 3,380 All amounts relate to continuing activities. Earnings per share 5 Basic earnings per share, in pence 2.79 2.24 5.68 Basic earnings per share, excluding 3.05 2.32 6.66 exceptional items, in pence Diluted earnings per share, in pence 2.78 2.23 5.64 THE RESTAURANT GROUP PLC Statement of Total Recognised Gains and Losses Six months Six months Year ended ended 30 June ended 30 June 31 December 2004 2003 2003 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Profit for the period 5,913 4,358 11,035 Currency translation differences on foreign currency (140) 155 204 investments Total recognised gains and losses relating to the year 5,773 4,513 11,239 Reconciliation of Movements in Shareholders' Funds Six months Six months Year ended ended 30 June ended 30 June 31 December 2004 2003 2003 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Total recognised gains and losses for the period 5,773 4,513 11,239 Dividends (1,765) (1,457) (7,655) Issue of ordinary shares - Placing on 15 January 2004 13,427 - - Issue of ordinary shares - exercise of share options 147 - - Total movements during the period 17,582 3,056 3,584 Shareholders' funds at 1 January 50,144 46,560 46,560 Shareholders' funds at end of period 67,726 49,616 50,144 THE RESTAURANT GROUP PLC Group Balance Sheet 30 June 30 June 31 December 2004 2003 2003 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Fixed assets Tangible assets 146,169 147,529 146,220 Current assets Stocks 1,991 1,985 2,508 Debtors 18,230 19,101 15,999 Cash at bank and in hand 505 1,994 526 20,726 23,080 19,033 Creditors Amounts falling due within one year (69,688) (60,901) (62,650) Net current liabilities (48,962) (37,821) (43,617) Total assets less current liabilities 97,207 109,708 102,603 Creditors Amounts falling due after one year (12,000) (43,000) (35,000) Provisions for liabilities and charges Property provision (614) (694) (687) Deferred tax (16,867) (16,398) (16,772) (17,481) (17,092) (17,459) Net assets 67,726 49,616 50,144 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 53,494 48,576 48,576 Share premium account 18,848 10,192 10,192 Profit and loss account (4,616) (9,152) (8,624) 67,726 49,616 50,144 THE RESTAURANT GROUP PLC Group Statement of Cash Flows Six months Six months Year ended ended 30 June ended 30 June 31 December 2004 2003 2003 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) Note £'000 £'000 £'000 Net cash flow from operating activities 1 18,463 14,556 37,955 Returns on investments and servicing of finance Interest received 63 32 221 Interest paid (878) (1,023) (2,683) Net cash outflow from returns on investments and servicing of finance (815) (991) (2,462) Taxation Net corporation tax paid (3,042) (464) (3,295) Capital expenditure Payments to acquire tangible fixed assets (10,182) (9,875) (20,375) Receipts from sales of tangible fixed assets 2,118 40 988 Net cash outflow for capital expenditure (8,064) (9,835) (19,387) Acquisitions and disposals Net proceeds received from the disposal of - - 427 operations Net cash inflow from acquisitions and disposals - - 427 Equity dividends paid 4 - - (6,801) Cash inflow before financing 6 6,542 3,266 6,437 Financing New loans drawn down 6 - 43,000 43,000 Net proceeds received from issue of shares 6 13,574 - - Loans repaid 6 (23,000) (45,329) (53,657) (9,426) (2,329) (10,657) (Decrease)/ increase in cash in the period 6 (2,884) 937 (4,220) THE RESTAURANT GROUP PLC Notes to the Interim Financial Statements 1) Reconciliation of operating profit to net cash inflow from operating activities Six months Six months Year ended ended 30 June ended 30 June 31 December 2004 2003 2003 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Operating profit 10,928 8,210 20,163 Depreciation 7,759 7,033 14,961 Decrease/ (increase) in stocks 517 281 (242) (Increase) in debtors (2,231) (5,622) (3,090) Increase in creditors 1,490 4,654 6,163 Net cash inflow from operating activities 18,463 14,556 37,955 2) Exceptional items The group has recognised a credit of £357,000 during the six months to 30 June 2004 in respect of accruals not required for professional costs incurred on the aborted bid for ASK Central plc. A loss and provision for loss on disposal of fixed assets of £1,097,000 (2003: £270,000) has been charged in the six months to 30 June 2004 in respect of property disposals. 3) Taxation The taxation charge has been calculated by reference to the expected effective corporation tax and deferred tax rates for the full financial year 2004 applied against the profit before tax for the period to 30 June 2004. The effective tax charge including deferred tax is estimated to be 34% for the year. 4) Dividends The Directors have declared an interim dividend of 0.825p (2003: 0.75p) per share which will be paid on 29 October 2004 to Ordinary Shareholders on the Register at the close of business on 24 September 2004. On 8 July 2004 the Group paid the final dividend for 2003 of 2.90p per share, or £6,198,000 in total. 5) Earnings per share The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on the profit after taxation for the period and on the weighted average number of ordinary shares in issue during the period. The weighted average number of ordinary shares at 30 June 2004 was 212,187,568. As at 30 June 2003 and 31 December 2003, the average weighted number of shares in issue was 194,301,733. Adjusted basic earnings per share represents the basic earnings per share, calculated as set out above, as adjusted for the effect on earnings of exceptional items (including the impact of taxation). The calculation of diluted earnings per share is based on 212,999,464 shares (six months ended 30 June 2003: 195,210,838 shares and year ended 31 December 2003: 195,720,500 shares). 6) Reconciliation of changes in cash to the movement in net debt Six months Six months Year ended ended 30 June ended 30 June 31 December 2004 2003 2003 (unaudited) (unaudited) (audited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Net debt at the beginning of the period (38,163) (44,600) (44,600) Movements during the period: New loans drawn down - (43,000) (43,000) Loans repaid 23,000 45,329 53,657 Cash (outflow)/ inflow (2,884) 937 (4,220) Net debt the end of the period (18,047) (41,334) (38,163) Analysis of net debt At Cash flow At 31 December movements 30 June 2003 in the period 2004 (audited) (unaudited) (unaudited) £'000 £'000 £'000 Cash at bank and in hand 526 (21) 505 Bank overdraft (3,689) (2,863) (6,552) (3,163) (2,884) (6,047) Bank loan due within one year - - - Bank loans due after one year (35,000) 23,000 (12,000) (38,163) 20,116 (18,047) 7) Share Capital Following the Extraordinary General Meeting held on 14 January 2004, the Company placed 19,430,000 shares (representing approximately 10% of the then existing share capital) on 15 January 2004, at a price of 71p per share which represented a discount of 1.4% to the closing mid-market price on 17 December 2003 (the last Dealing Day prior to the announcement of the Placing). In addition, since the 2003 year end, the Group issued 242,787 shares in respect of a Save As You Earn scheme to employees. Interim Financial Statements The interim financial statements have been prepared on the basis of the accounting policies set out in the Group's 2003 statutory accounts. The interim financial statements were approved by a duly appointed committee of the Board of Directors on 14 September 2004 and are unaudited. The auditors have carried out a review and their report is set out below. The figures for the year ended 31 December 2003 have been extracted from the statutory accounts which have been filed with the Registrar of Companies. The auditors' report on the 2003 financial statements was unqualified and did not contain any statement under section 237 of the Companies Act 1985. The interim financial statements do not constitute statutory accounts. Independent Review Report to The Restaurant Group plc Introduction We have been instructed by the company to review the financial information for the six months ended 30 June 2004 on pages 7 to 13. We have read the other information contained in the interim report and considered whether it contains any apparent misstatements or material inconsistencies with the financial information. This report is made solely to the company in accordance with the terms of our engagement to assist the company in meeting the requirements of the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority. Our review has been undertaken so that we might state to the company those matters we are required to state to it in this report and for no other purpose. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the company for our review work, for this report, or for the conclusions we have reached. Directors' responsibilities The interim report, including the financial information contained therein, is the responsibility of, and has been approved by, the directors. The directors are responsible for preparing the interim report in accordance with the Listing Rules of the Financial Services Authority which require that the accounting policies and presentation applied to the interim figures should be consistent with those applied in preparing the preceding annual accounts except where any changes, and the reasons for them, are disclosed. Review work performed We conducted our review in accordance with guidance contained in Bulletin 1999/4 issued by the Auditing Practices Board for use in the United Kingdom. A review consists principally of making enquiries of management and applying analytical procedures to the financial information and underlying financial data and based thereon, assessing whether the accounting policies and presentation have been consistently applied unless otherwise disclosed. A review excludes audit procedures such as tests of controls and verification of assets, liabilities and transactions. It is substantially less in scope than an audit performed in accordance with United Kingdom Auditing Standards and therefore provides a lower level of assurance than an audit. Accordingly, we do not express an audit opinion on the financial information. Review conclusion On the basis of our review we are not aware of any material modifications that should be made to the financial information as presented for the six months ended 30 June 2004. BDO Stoy Hayward LLP London 14 September 2004 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
UK 100

Latest directors dealings