- Like-for-like sales up 4.7%
- Sales up 19.2% in first half
- On schedule to open 35 sites for the year
Loungers’ (LGRS:AIM) unique all-day café/bar restaurants format continued to outperform the wider hospitality market with like-for-like sales growing 4.7% for the 24 weeks to 6 October compared with the same period in 2023.
The news was warmly received as the shares gained 4p or 1.5% to 270p, taking the year-to-date advance to 20%, comfortably ahead of the 4% loss in the FTSE AIM 100 index.
Loungers floated on the stock market just ahead of the pandemic in May 2019 at 200p per share when it operated from 146 sites. Today the company said it opened 17 new sites in the first half period, taking the total portfolio to 273 sites.
WHAT DID THE COMPANY SAY?
CEO Nick Collins commented: ‘I am delighted with our performance and the consistency of our sales growth, both in terms of like for like growth in the mature estate as well as the strength of our new openings.
‘During the period we have opened in 17 towns and high streets across the UK, which adds up to 37 in the last 12 months, and enormous credit is due to the hard work and professionalism of our amazing teams.
‘From what we are seeing across our sites, UK consumers are feeling increasingly confident and want to go out and enjoy themselves across all parts of the day. That confidence, combined with the variety, breadth, flexibility, and relevance of our all-day offering, is reflected in our continued sales success.’
Revenue for the period increased by 19.2% on the prior year to £178.3 million and the company said it was making good progress towards reaching its pre-Covid EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortisation) margin of 13.5%.
A further 18 new sites are scheduled to open in the financial second half to the end of April 2025 in line with the increased cadence of the roll-out programme. Non-property net debt on 6 October was £12.2 million compared with £14.3 million in 2023.
