- Sales and profit up 51% and 84% respectively
- Like-for-like sales up 2.7% in first 10 weeks
- Strong pipeline of new openings and acquisitions
Ten pin bowling and family entertainment operator Ten Entertainments (TEG:AIM) delivered record sales and profit for the year ended 3 January, notching up yearly growth of 51% and 84% respectively.
Despite a tough comparative period the first 10 weeks of the new financial year to 12 March, the business has generated like-for-like sales growth of 2.7% leaving management ‘cautiously optimistic’ for the rest of the year. The shares gained 2% to 290p and are up 22% over the last year.
WHAT DID MANAGEMENT SAY?
Chief executive Graham Blackwell commented: ‘We now have 49 centres across the UK and are in the process of building two more, with scope to continue rolling out our winning model to more customers over the coming years.
‘Our model has broad appeal across the generations and for a wide range of customers, and our value-for-money proposition makes a visit to Tenpin an affordable treat.
‘We continue to be mindful of the macro-economic climate and its effects. However, we remain confident that our investment strategy to deliver state of the art social entertainment together with our value proposition will continue to be very attractive to customers.
VALUE PROPOSITION DRIVES RECORD PROFIT AND FOOTFALL
Like for like sales grew 5.5% compared with 2021 and 39.8% compared with 2019 driving overall sales up 51% to £126.7 million while adjusted pre-tax profit jumped 84% to £26.1 million.
Growth was achieved through footfall rising 42% driven by a combination of more new customers and existing customers visiting more frequently, while revenue per head contributed 8.9% to growth.
Management have kept prices fixed at 2019 levels of £5.23 while increased participation of promotions resulted in average realised prices falling 1.5% to £5.13 maintaining the firm’s ‘excellent value-for-money’ proposition to drive footfall.
The company attracted over eight million customers in 2022 which is a third more than in 2019, testament to the attraction of its format.
WHAT ARE THE STRATEGIC PRIORITIES?
Record profit turned a net debt position last year into a net cash position of £10 million at the end of 2022. This allowed the company to focus on its strategic priorities of investing in the customer proposition by refurbishing six centres and upgrading five ‘best-in-class’ bowling centres.
Two new centres were opened in 2022 while a new centre in Crewe opened in February 2023 and four more sites are expected to open throughout the year.
Blackwell told Shares the company has a strong pipeline of acquisitions opportunities with potential to complement organic growth.
The board recommended a final dividend of 7p per share taking the total pay out to 10p per share. The company also shared its success with employees and paid out £2 million in staff bonuses.
