Punch Taverns sees little upside from new licensing regime

Extended drinking hours have had little impact on Punch Taverns' overall trading, according to Giles Thorley, the pub operator's chief executive.

Thorley said that while the Licensing Act offered his retailers flexibility, the effect in recent months had been to help reduce alcohol-related disorder rather than boost business.

"The new Act has given our retailers and their customers greater flexibility of opening hours," he said.

"As expected, extended hours have had little impact on overall trading, but by relieving the pressure at closing time they've helped reduce the number of alcohol-related crime incidents."

Thorley was speaking as the pub operator announced its results for the year to August 19 2006, which saw overall turnover up 101 per cent to £1.5bn, thanks to the Spirit acquisition, with pre-tax profits up 21 per cent at £249.6m.

Sales from ongoing operations ex-Spirit rose 2.4 per cent to £801.5m, while related operating profits were up 4.7 per cent to £416m.

Like-for-like revenue in the group's leased estate rose one per cent, with average profit per pub up 1.9 per cent.

Spirit's like-for-likes rose 3.6 per cent, while core estate saw an increase of six per cent.

The ongoing lease conversion programme of Spirit pubs was progressing well, Thorley said, with 155 pubs transferred so far.

The impact of the smoking ban in Scotland had been minimal, Thorley added, and the group remained confident a ban south of the border would "create new trading opportunities".

Having recently sold a package of pubs to GI Partners and bought the Mill House Inns for £164m, Thorley said Punch would continue to look at the market for both acquisition and disposal opportunities.

Punch missed out on buying Nottinghamshire brewer Hardys & Hansons to Greene King in September, despite lodging a higher bid than the Suffolk-based company's £271m offer.

The group's shares, which have doubled in the last two years, were up 12.5p to 1073p.

• Punch announced a number of senior management changes, with Andrew Knight, Spirit Group's managing director, being appointed to the board and chairman Phil Cox revealing he has decided to retire. Cox will be replaced by Peter Cawdron, a Punch non-executive director.