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(Sharecast News) - Restaurant operator DP Poland said on Wednesday that interim pre-tax losses had widened as direct costs increased due to inflationary pressures, offsetting improved revenues.
DP Poland posted a first-half loss of £2.2m, a 15.5% widening year-on-year, despite seeing revenues increase 20% to £16.57m and system sales rise 16.8% to £17.09m.
Like-for-like sales grew 23.8% year-on-year and DP Poland delivered underlying earnings of £388,000, a marked improvement from the prior year's underlying loss of £14,000.
Margins contracted from 2.3% to -0.1% as a lag between cost inflation and the group's ability to raise prices temporarily impacted margins.
DP Poland stated that positive sales trends had accelerated so far in the second half, with July and August like-for-like sales growing at a rate of more than 30% year-on-year.
Growth was said to be visible across all sales segments, with dine-in and carry out business growing at 48% in August and delivery growing by 27% compared to the prior year.
"We remain vigilant against the strong inflationary environment facing companies and consumers alike, although we are seeing early signs of some pressures easing," said chief executive Nils Gornall.
As of 1015 BST, DP Poland shares were up 1.96% at 7.80p.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
