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(Alliance News) - Heavitree Brewery PLC on Friday said it will not pay a dividend for the first half of financial 2020 after it saw a dive in first half profit.
Shares in the pub company were trading 7.2% higher at 348.50 pence each on Friday afternoon in London.
For the six months ended April 30, Heavitree posted pretax profit of GBP184,000, falling significantly from GBP705,000 the year prior. Revenue was GBP2.6 million, down from GBP3.4 million.
"The request by the Prime Minister asking the public to avoid visiting pubs, and the subsequent forced closure of pubs, clubs and restaurants across the UK on March 20 has had an inevitably devastating effect on the trade as a whole and, of course, our business is not immune to the impact that has been felt by all pub companies," said Chair Nicholas Tucker.
The Exeter-headquartered company said it will not pay an interim dividend, adding that it will review future payouts after trading returns to normal. The cancellation of the payout comes after the company in March, withdrew its recommendation to pay a 4.25p final dividend for its financial year ended October 2019.
Turning to current trading, Heavitree said it cancelled rents completely for all its licensed houses from the closure up to the end of July 2020. It said that in addition to the sale of land in Christow for GBP15,000, it has secured an increased overdraft facility from Barclays, a 12-month capital repayment holiday on its existing facility and a relaxation of the covenants attached to its original facility.
Looking ahead, Tucker added: "Much has been written about getting the pubs open to 'save our summer'. It is important to remember that, rather ominously for the second half of our financial year, we already have two months without any trading to absorb."
As at the end of April, Heavitree had cash of GBP45,000.
By Ife Taiwo; ifetaiwo@alliancenews.com.
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