Profits fall at The Restaurant Group after £559m Wagamama merger
The Restaurant Group has posted a drop in profits for last year as well as warning of falling like-for-like sales, but said its controversial takeover of Wagamama will prove “transformative”.
Read more: Like-for-like sales fall at The Restaurant Group despite Wagamama boost
The figures
Adjusted profit before tax slipped eight per cent year on year to £53.2m, while revenue ticked up one per cent to £686m despite a two per cent decline in like-for-like sales.
Operating cashflow fell from £107.8m in 2017 to £88.3m last year after its £559m Wagamama acquisition, with net debt ballooning to £291.1m, up from £23.1m in 2017.
Earnings per share lost two-thirds of their value, down from 6.7p in 2017 to 2.4p.
The board has proposed a final dividend of 1.47p per share.
What The Restaurant Group said
Chief executive Andy McCue said: “We have made significant progress in 2018, acquiring a differentiated, high growth business in Wagamama, opening a record number of new sites in both our pubs and concessions businesses, and driving improved like-for-like sales momentum in the leisure business throughout 2018.
Read more: The Restaurant Group shares fall as boss steps down
“We now have a business that is orientated strongly towards growth and we continue to focus on delivering shareholder value.”
More to follow.