(Alliance News) - Fulham Shore PLC on Tuesday said it is considering dividend payments after the restaurant operator swung to a profit on rising revenue and customer numbers.
Shares in Fulham Shore were 4.4% higher at 12.00 pence in London on Tuesday.
For the year ended March, the Real Greek and Franco Manca restaurant chain owner swung to GBP1.4 million pretax profit from a GBP110,000 loss the year prior. This was after revenue rose 17% to GBP64.0 million from GBP54.7 million the year before.
Fulham Shore Chair David Page said revenue and profit growth was "achieved against a backdrop of political uncertainty impacting consumer sentiment and the well-publicised issues being faced by other UK restaurant businesses."
Page emphasised that "both the Real Greek and Franco Manca traded well over the year and we are pleased to report that the number of customers visiting our existing restaurants increased during the year."
Although the firm did not declare a dividend for the recently ended financial year. Chair Page said the firm would consider a payout during the new financial year, "reflecting the board's continued confidence in the outlook for Fulham Shore."
Page added that the new financial year had seen trading start "well" for both its Franco Manca and Real Greek brands.
"Both our businesses are building customer numbers and they both continue to have significant growth potential," Page said. "We are confident that the group will perform well this year and we look forward to further financial and operational progress."
In a separate announcement, Fulham Shore proposed to acquire the outstanding minority stakes in the firms which own its two main brands for a combined GBP650,658 in cash.
Fulham Shore added that Real Greek-owner Kefi Ltd and Franco Manca Holdings Ltd currently have minority shareholders holding stakes of 1%. These minority stakes are currently equally held by Chair Page and Managing Director Nabil Mankarious.
