Heavitree Brewery PLC - tenanted and leased pub company based in Exeter, Devon - Pretax profit drops 77% to GBP414,000 for its financial year ended October 31 from GBP1.8 million as revenue falls 33% to GBP5.0 million from GBP7.5 million. Heavitree has opted against payment of of a year-end dividend, though will review future dividends "when trading is back on a more even keel after restrictions are eased."
Chair Nicholas Tucker says: "Although the summer months allowed some level of trade the board was under no illusions that a possible second wave of infection would inevitably bring further restrictions on the sector and we would need to do all that we could to support our pubs. At the time of writing, it is now obvious that our concerns during the summer have become the reality."
Looking ahead, Tucker says: "The situation remains fluid; there is hope following the fast rollout of the vaccination programme but also concerns about the various variant strains of Covid-19 that are appearing around the world."
Tucker also notes that Barclays Bank "has formally agreed to waive the testing of our banking covenants until April 2022".
Current stock price: 400 pence
Year-to-date change: flat
By Anna Farley; annafarley@alliancenews.com
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Heavitree (HVT)