Hollywood Bwl Regulatory News (BOWL)

Hollywood Bowl Group plc

("Hollywood Bowl" or the "Group")

Half Year Trading Update

STRONG FIRST HALF TRADING AND FURTHER GROWTH IN THE UK & CANADA

 GIVE CONFIDENCE FOR FULL YEAR

Hollywood Bowl Group, operator of the UK's and Canada's largest ten-pin bowling brands, is pleased to announce a trading update for the six months ended 31 March 2025.

Key highlights

o  Record first half Group revenue of £129.2m, up 8.4%. compared to £119.2m in H1 FY2024

o  UK revenue up 4.7%, to £108.2m

o  Canada revenue up 40.8% on a constant currency basis1, to CAD 38.0m (£21.1m)

o  Total Group like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth of 2.1%2

o  UK LFL total revenue up 1.3%,with bowling centres LFL of 1.5%

o  Canada LFL total revenue up 13.6%, with bowling centres LFL of 3.7%, on a constant currency basis1

o  Group LFLs are negatively impacted by 0.9% due to the timing of Easter compared to H1 FY2024, as well as a 0.2% impact from the extra leap year day in 2024

· Successful completion of £10m share buyback

o  3,762,176 shares purchased and cancelled

· Strong balance sheet supports growth strategy

o  Net cash position on 31 March 2025 of £22.7m

o  Undrawn £25m revolving credit facility

· Continued strong customer demand and operational momentum

o  The Group remains confident in the outlook for the business in FY2025

UK - 75 Hollywood Bowl centres

o  Three new centres opened in Swindon, Preston, and Inverness, all performing well and in line with expectations

o  On track to open two new centres in H2 FY2025 in Uxbridge and Reading

o  Four refurbishments completed in H1 FY2025 and on track to complete one further refurbishment in H2 FY2025

Canada - 15 centres

o  Two new centres opened in Kanata, Ottawa and Creekside, Calgary, both performing well and in line with expectations

o  Starting construction at Christy's Corner, Alberta in H2 FY2025, due to open H1 FY2026

o  Two refurbishments completed in H1 FY2025 and on track to complete four in H2 FY2025

1. When reviewing in Canadian Dollars (CAD) to allow for the disaggregation of foreign currency effect. Canada revenue includes Striker Bowling Solutions (bowling equipment supply and maintenance) and bowling centres.

2. Like-for-like (LFL) revenue growth is total revenue excluding any new centres and closed centres. New centres are included in the LFL revenue after they complete the calendar anniversary of their opening date. Closed centres are excluded for the full financial year in which they were closed.

Trading in the first half has been strong and included a record revenue month in both the UK and Canada in December. Performance has been driven by the ongoing successful execution of our strategy to drive returns through investment in the size and quality of the estate and in the customer experience.

The five new centre openings in the UK and Canada during the first half have performed well and the pipeline continues to build across both geographies. The Group remains on track to achieve its target total of 130 centres by 2035. Further progress has been made with the ongoing refurbishment programme in the UK and Canada, delivering target returns and receiving excellent customer feedback.

There remains strong, continued demand for fun leisure activities across both geographies. Families are actively seeking experiences that are affordable, safe, and convenient, and that cater to all ages. As the UK and Canada's largest ten-pin bowling operator, Hollywood Bowl Group is well positioned to meet this demand given its inclusive, great value-for-money offer. 

The Group's resilience to inflationary pressures, with over 70% of Group revenue not subject to cost-of-goods inflation, has allowed prices to be kept affordable and attractive in recent years. As previously announced, the cost impact from recent changes to National Insurance contributions and National Living and Minimum Wages in the UK is expected to be c. £1.2m on an annualised basis from when the changes were implemented in April 2025. The Group is well positioned to mitigate these higher employment costs given the strong cost culture and low labour-to-revenue ratio of under 20% in the UK. It is the Group's view that the tariff changes, announced in early April 2025, will have no material impact on its operating costs.

The Group successfully completed a £10m share buyback on 8th April 2025. The ongoing significant cash generation from the core business and returns from the ongoing investment programme allows the Group to continue to invest in the quality of its estate, further expand its portfolio in the UK and Canada, and enhance the customer experience, while maximising returns to its shareholders. The Group remains confident in the outlook for the business in FY2025.

Stephen Burns, Chief Executive Officer of Hollywood Bowl Group, commented:

"We are pleased with our half year performance, with results in line with our expectations, reflecting the ongoing demand for fun leisure activities and the attraction of bowling as an affordable, inclusive experience that everyone can enjoy. We have made excellent progress in executing our growth strategy, opening five new centres, and upgrading six centres across the UK and Canada. Our teams work extremely hard to deliver high-quality experiences and we continue to invest in growing our estate and enhancing our industry-leading proposition, while carefully controlling costs and cash."

Hollywood Bowl will report its Interim Results on Thursday 29th May 2025.

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