Punch packs a wallop

Struggling pubs group Punch Taverns claimed its turnaround campaign remains on track, with strong sales growth in its managed estate in the second quarter while trends in the leased estate improved in the second quarter.In a statement covering trading for the 12 weeks to 5 March, Punch said its managed estate enjoyed like for like (LFL) sales growth of 8.6% from the corresponding period a year earlier. That raised LFL sales growth for the first two quarters of the group's financial year up to 4.9%.LFL food sales over the 12 weeks rose 11.7% (28 weeks: +6.3%) while drink sales rose 7.0% on a LFL basis (28 weeks: +3.9%).The group has been investing heavily in parts of its managed estate but said it was heartened by a 5.2% year on year rise in sales in its uninvested pubs.The picture in the leased estate the picture is less rosy, but at least the trends are improving, with LFL income down 6.1% in the 12 week period, while over the first 28 weeks of the group's financial year LFL income was down 7.0%.Average net income per pub was up 0.3% in the first half of the year on a year earlier, the first time it has grown year on year since March 2008. The group has been offloading many of its underperforming pubs in the leased estate."We are pleased that our operational initiatives continue to translate into improved performance within both the managed and leased businesses. Despite the challenging UK consumer environment, we remain confident of further improvements being delivered in the second half of this financial year and are on track to meet our full year expectations," said Ian Dyson, Punch's chief executive.Dyson is set to unveil the outcome of the company's strategic review on 22 March.