Revolution Bars Group Trading Update (9408M)
January 14 2019 - 2:00AM
UK Regulatory
TIDMRBG
RNS Number : 9408M
Revolution Bars Group
14 January 2019
Revolution Bars Group plc
Trading update
Revolution Bars Group plc ("the Group"), the leading operator of
79 premium bars trading across the UK under the Revolution and
Revolucion de Cuba brands, is today providing a trading update for
the 26 weeks to 29 December 2018 ("H1 FY19") and for the important
Christmas and New Year trading period.
Total revenue for the 26 weeks ended 29 December 2018 was
GBP78.5m (H1 FY18: GBP73.8m), an increase of 6.4%. Five new venues
opened during this period: Revolution Mitchell Street in Glasgow
and Revolucion de Cuba Southampton in August, Revolucion de Cuba
Bristol in October, and Revolucion de Cuba Huddersfield and
Revolution Durham in November. Overall, these venues have traded
ahead of expectations.
Like-for-like* sales in the important four week trading period
leading up to and including New Year's Eve were 2.6% higher than
last year and 8.7% higher over two years. This is the sixth
consecutive year of growth over the festive period. During this
four week period, pre-booked party revenue was up 11.7% on a
like-for-like* basis and average weekly sales per venue were above
GBP60,000 with 22 venues setting new total sales records. As
expected, and as reported by many high street retailers, Christmas
trading came late with like-for-like* sales in the last two weeks
of the financial period up 8.1%.
Like-for-like* sales performance for the 26 weeks ended 29
December 2018 was -4.0% below last year with the first quarter at
-5.0% (as advised at the time of the Group's announcement of its
annual results on 2 October 2018) and an improved second quarter at
-3.1%. Sales trends in October and November broadly followed those
experienced in the first quarter but, as anticipated, stepped up
significantly in December. The 26 week reporting period does not
include New Year's Eve, consistent with the comparative period.
Revolucion de Cuba has continued to grow like-for-like* sales
during the 26 week period with a particularly strong performance
over the Christmas period. Whilst the Revolution brand has also
achieved growth over the four week trading period to New Year's
Eve, it has consistently traded below last year over the 26 week
period.
The Board is well progressed with its work on revitalising the
Revolution brand proposition and continues to implement the
required changes to the customer offer with further initiatives
being launched in the coming weeks. The Board expects to be able to
provide an update on the Revolution brand proposition when it
publishes interim results on Friday 1 March 2019. The Board expects
adjusted EBITDA** for H1 FY19 to be approximately GBP2.0m lower
than last year due to the like-for-like sales decline and increased
operating costs. Whilst the business has seen a much improved trend
over the Christmas period, there is still further work to be done
on the Revolution brand and therefore the Board is taking a
cautious approach to trading in the second half given the economic
and political uncertainties at this time. Accordingly, it expects
adjusted EBITDA** for the full year to be approximately GBP12.0m
(FY18: GBP15.0m).
Commenting on the performance, Rob Pitcher - Chief Executive
Officer said "The uplift in like-for-like* sales performance over
the festive period gives us momentum going into the second half and
I'm pleased with the progress being made in refreshing the
Revolution brand proposition. However, given the uncertain economic
and political outlook we are adopting a more cautious outlook on
trading in the coming months."
* Like-for-like sales comprise aggregate sales for those bars
that have traded throughout both the current reporting period and
comparable reporting period
** Adjusted EBITDA excludes exceptional items, bar opening costs
and share-based payments
Enquiries:
Revolution Bars
Group plc
Rob Pitcher, CEO
Mike Foster, CFO 0161 330 3876
Instinctif Partners
Matthew Smallwood
Tom Berger 020 7457 2020
This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the
London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct
Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United
Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution
of this information may apply. For further information, please
contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com.
END
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