Ten Entertainment profit and revenues rise as it expands estate

(Sharecast News) - Ten Entertainment posted a rise in full-year profit and revenue on Wednesday as it expands its estate.In the year to 30 December 2018, adjusted pre-tax profit was up 4% to £13.5m on revenue of £76.4m, up 7.5% on the previous year. Meanwhile, like-for-like sales were 2.7% higher during the year, which Ten said was a strong performance despite the record hot summer, which it reckons impacted LFL sales by around 2%.The company recommended a final dividend of 7.7p a share, taking the full-year dividend to 11p, up from 10p in 2017.Ten Entertainment, which successfully completed four site acquisitions during the period, also announced a conditional agreement to buy a site in Southport, which it said was a "well-established centre in an excellent location".Chief executive Duncan Garrood said: "This addition is further evidence of the group's ability to successfully execute its strategy as it continues to grow the estate through selective acquisition and by driving organic growth." The company said sales in the first 11 weeks of FY19 have started "positively", with LFL sales in the year to date of 5.1%.Chairman Nick Basing said: "We have had another good year on all key metrics and have substantially increased the dividend."Our simple two-pronged strategy of investing in driving organic growth and developing scale benefits through high returning acquisitions is proving increasingly successful."Despite the political and economic uncertainty currently, we are well placed to enjoy the latent consumer demand for our unique brand of experiential leisure across the country. "We anticipate further good growth and profitable progress this year."At 1305 GMT, the shares were up 2.3% to 220p.