Enterprise Inns results show steady growth as it moves away from one-size-fits-all management style
Shares gained some fizz yesterday at the UK's largest pub owner, Enterprise Inns, while full-year profits after tax swung back.
The figures
Revenue rose 1.1 per cent to £632m from £625m last year.
Profit after tax swung to £71m following 2015's loss of £65m, due to low exceptional refinancing costs and lower property charges arising from the annual estate valuation, which increased this year by 0.1 per cent.
Shares rose 4.87 per cent to 102.25 at the close of the London Stock Exchange.
Earnings before exceptional items were down £4m to £292m, in line with expectations reflecting the impact of planned asset disposals.
Why it's interesting
Enterprise is "evolving" from a leased and tenanted operation to one of a managed portfolio, in which the company directly manages and runs pubs.
As of 30 September, Enterprise had 4,470 pubs trading within the total leased and tenanted estate and was operating 291 commercial properties.
With 105 managed pubs trading today and 11 managed investments, the company is confident it is on course to reach its original target of around 800 managed pubs by 2020.
Paul Hickman, analyst at Edison Investment Research, said Enterprise is advancing steadily in its aim to create smaller, higher quality estates managed individually rather than the limitations of "one-size-fits-all" tenanted and leased pubs.
The company reduced the number of long leases by 20 per cent over the last year.
Chief Executive Simon Townsend said Enterprise is pleased to have met its financial objectives for the year and to have grown its commercial property portfolio and managed operations and investments businesses.
What Enterprise Inns said
Chief Executive Simon Townsend said:
Whilst there is the potential for some economic uncertainty in the months ahead, trading in the first six weeks of the new financial year has been in line with our expectations and we are confident that the actions we are taking to execute our strategic plans are the most appropriate response to changes in the regulatory and economic environment. Our proactive management of debt refinancing and our returns-driven approach to allocating excess cash will deliver both near and long-term benefits to all our stakeholders.