Profit fall for Thwaites
Daniel Thwaites, the Lancashire-based brewer and pub operator, suffered a 10% drop in net profit before tax to £9m last year.
The group, which also owns and runs the prestigious Stafford hotel in London, said the figure had been achieved despite the toughest trading conditions in many years.
Revealing its results for the year to 31 March 2009, the Plus quoted company said turnover had fallen by 1.8% to £158.5m — down from £161.4m — as a result of a 2.3% drop at the brewery and a 0.6% decline in hotel business. Profit before exceptional charges was up 8.3% to £16.9m and was boosted by trading at the Stafford and another Bristol hotel.
A £2.3m exceptional charge related to the cost of implementing redundancies. Thwaites reduced net debt to £136m, down from £142.3m in 2008, and said it had a gearing of 51.6%.
It added: “The current focus in a tight banking market is on squeezing the best performance possible from our operations and significant asset base, the conservation of cash and a reduction in the level of debt.”
It also revealed that the company had secured its banking facilities until 2012, but would not be paying a dividend.
The company said: “While this has been a difficult de-cision, it is your board’s hope to reinstate the dividend next year.”
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