Restaurant Group piles on an 8pc profit
RESTAURANT Group has shrugged off concerns related to rising input costs and lower consumer morale by posting an eight per cent rise in its first-half adjusted pre-tax profit, and said it expected to make further progress this year.
The company, which owns the Garfunkel’s and Frankie & Benny’s chains, said yesterday year-to-date total turnover was up seven per cent and like-for-like sales climbed 2.75 per cent.
“Despite the recent raft of downbeat newsflow, and the disturbances in early August, we’ve made a good start to the second half,” chief executive Andrew Page said in a statement.
For the 26 weeks to 3 July, the adjusted pre-tax profit was £24.4m, compared with £22.6m last year. Revenue grew 7.5 per cent to £234m.
In May, Restaurant Group said total sales for the first 18 weeks of the new financial year grew 5.5 per cent, but saw tough market conditions ahead on a fragile consumer confidence.