Punch Taverns remain cautious

14th October 2009, 11:56am

In its latest trading update, Punch Taverns has revealed that losses have increased to £176m, up from £64.7m last year.

Meanwhile pre-tax profits dropped to £160.4m as beer sales declined.

Giles Thorley, chief executive of Punch Taverns plc, explained what they are doing as a group to survive the crunch: "Our swift action has reduced the company's net debt by over £1 billion during the year, as we've heeded the challenges facing the economy and the industry. 

"We have strengthened our operational management team; raised equity from our shareholders; stabilised the operating performance and improved significantly our cash flow.  We are now shaping the business to deliver a return to long-term sustainable growth and value."

Thorley also said that despite the concerning figures, he is confident about what the future holds: "The trading environment remains challenging and lacks visibility, hence we remain cautious despite the measures undertaken. We are nevertheless confident that the significant progress we are making positions us well for the longer-term opportunities in the sector."

The pub group owns 7,600 leased and managed pubs. The preliminary results are for the 52 weeks to 22 August 2009.

Related Articles:

• 07 Dec 2011 - Punch Taverns pub company raises almost £5.5k for Movember
• 21 Sep 2011 - Over 250 Punch pubs make CAMRA’s Good Beer Guide 2012
• 30 Jun 2011 - New board appointments at Punch Taverns
• 13 Jul 2010 - Pub company Punch Taverns ranks high in new FTSE carbon index
• 13 May 2010 - Pub group Punch Taverns appoints group chief executive officer
• 31 Mar 2010 - Giles Thorley to step down as chief executive of Punch Taverns
• 24 Sep 2009 - Over 300 Punch Tavern pubs put up for sale
• 16 Jun 2009 - Punch Taverns remain 'very cautious'
• 08 Jun 2009 - Punch funds new set of wheels for Oliver
• 29 Apr 2009 - Punch Taverns offloads pubs worth £91m

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