Fri, 13 Apr 2012 | BUSINESS NEWS
A trickle of pub sales is likely to continue as Punch Taverns has announced that its profits fell by 20 per cent in the first half of the year.
The firm, which is in the midst of plans to dispose of the majority of its non-core pubs over a five-year period, saw its pre-tax profit in the 28 weeks to 3 March fall from £41 million a year ago, to £33 million.
However, it reassured the market that it is on track to meet its full-year profit expectations despite poor trading conditions, but noted that its average net income per pub rose by less than one per cent. Meanwhile, like-for-like net income for the core estate declined by 2.1 per cent.
Punch is currently in negotiations with bondholders to reduce its debt of £2.2 billion. In the first half of the year it claims to have succeeded in lowering the debt by three per cent through the sale of 214 pubs and other assets for £62 million.
Roger Whiteside, the firm's chief executive, observed that the firm's strategy is still on track: “Notwithstanding the continuing challenging climate, we have a clear operational plan to return the core estate to growth in the medium-term and extract maximum value from our non-core assets.”
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