(Alliance News) - Fulham Shore PLC on Friday said it has delivered a "creditable" performance despite UK lockdown restrictions put in place due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The owner of restaurant chains Franco Manca and The Real Greek swung to GBP4.3 million pretax loss in the six months ended September 27 from a GBP743,000 profit a year before, as revenue dropped by almost half to GBP19.9 million from GBP36.0 million. This was a result of the national lockdown restrictions, it said.
Fulham Shore said that out of its 72 UK restaurants, 58 are in Tier 3 areas, with 7 of these closed temporarily. A total of two restaurants will possibly be closed until spring 2021, it said.
Chair David Page said: "We are pleased to have delivered a creditable performance during the first half of the current financial year despite all Franco Manca and The Real Greek restaurants being closed to dine-in customers for more than half the period. The group generated positive headline earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation during the second quarter (July to September), reflecting the popularity of our businesses and their great value proposition."
More positively, Fulham Shore said it has opened two new restaurants since the end of September and at a lower-than-normal cost. "The ongoing damage to the property and restaurant sectors will allow us to prospect for new sites at much reduced rents and with lower capital costs per site," it said. "The two restaurants we have recently opened cost us less than half of the typical outlay of a year ago."
Looking ahead, Page said: "Despite the near-term uncertainty, the board remains confident in the long-term strength of the group and believes it is well positioned to both deliver strategic growth and capitalise on opportunities as a sense of normality resumes."
Once normal trading conditions return, the company will target a higher return on capital than it has historically achieved, it added.
Fulham Shore declared no interim dividend, unchanged from a year before.
Shares in Fulham Shore were down 5.0% at 9.50 pence in London on Friday.
By Zoe Wickens; zoewickens@alliancenews.com
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