Estate Development4 Sep 2013 21:58
We have opened 7 (2012 - 12) new restaurants (three Prezzo and four Chimichanga restaurants) and closed one unit during the period, so there were 216 (2012 - 193) units trading at the end of the period, with 181 Prezzo and 33 Chimichanga units.___
These openings included our first opening in Northern Ireland, in Victoria Square in Belfast, a Chimichanga on Wimbledon Broadway and two units within the new Whiteley Shopping Centre at Fareham, in Hampshire. Since the end of the period we have opened a further 6 new restaurants and therefore we are currently trading from 222 (2012- 194) restaurants.___
The pipeline for openings over the next 18 months is well developed and the second half will see openings in Windsor, Leeds, Oxford and Wembley. By the end of year, we would anticipate having opened approximately 30 new restaurants in 2013.___
With this rate of growth in mind, we continue to strengthen the Prezzo team, with recent key appointments in the areas of Property, Supply Chain and Facilities Management, to ensure that expansion is carefully managed and costs are well-controlled.___
Cash flows and financing___
Cashflow generated from operations was £11.9m (2012 - £13.5m) and after £2.0m (2012 - £2.2m) of corporation tax payments, there was £10.0m (2012 - £11.4m) of free cash available for investment.___
During the period, the cash outflow on property, plant & equipment was £13.7m (2012 - £12.5m) which covered capital expenditure on the fit out of new restaurants, as well as refurbishment and rebranding projects for the existing estate and the purchase of one freehold property for £1.1m (2012 - nil).___
Overall, there was a net cash outflow of £2.6m (2012 - £0.8m) and at the end of the period we had net cash of £1.8m (2012 - £0.7m net borrowings).___
We are comfortable that our strong cash generation will provide us with sufficient flexibility and resources to fund our anticipated expansion plans for the foreseeable future. As in previous years, no interim dividend will be paid.
Outlook___
We are very pleased with the first half performance and with our opening programme comfortably on track and providing some exciting opportunities over the remainder of the year, we remain confident of delivering a satisfactory outcome for the year as a whole.