The business that operates 1,267 pubs, 92% of which are owned on a freehold or long-leasehold basis, said its moving annual total (MAT) underlying earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) was £92.6m in the 16 weeks to 1 December 2024.
It added this will be further boosted by a £4.8m incremental increase in EBITDA from the acquisition of 36 pubs in the second half of its 2024 financial year (FY24) and 18 pubs in the first quarter of its FY25 and a predicted £2.4m uptick in run-rate cost saving efficiencies to be realised in the next 12 months. This will lead to an adjusted run-rate EBITDA of £99.8m at 1 December 2024.
Additionally, Q2 FY25 trading to date has been “encouraging with profitability ahead of the prior year”.
Revenue up
The business – which is split into three divisions – Leased & Tenanted (L&T), Management Partnership (MP) and Laine Pub Company – delivered £27.1m of underlying EBITDA for the 16 weeks ended 1 December 2024 versus £25.6m of underlying EBITDA in the 16 weeks ended 3 December 2023.
Total revenue was £97.3m during the period compared to £96.0m in the prior year period while all three divisions delivered like-for-like underlying EBITDA growth for the quarter when compared to the prior year period.
Underlying EBITDA for the 52 weeks to 1 December 2024 was £92.6m, which compares positively to the £76.0m of adjusted underlying EBITDA from the wider Punch group in the year to August 2019, being the most recent financial year prior to the Covid pandemic.
A further £10.7m of capex has been invested into its pubs in the quarter alongside acquisitions of £11.0m.
Acquisitions and disposals
Breaking down its acquisitions, Punch acquired 18 pubs in the period comprising a portfolio of 14 pubs and four individual pubs.
Punch disposed nine pubs in the quarter to 1 December 2024, generating proceeds of £4.3m and a profit on disposal of £0.4m.
Net cash inflow from operating activities of £18.7m was generated during the period, versus £22.2m in the 16 weeks to 3 December 2023.
The Group maintained strong levels of available financial resources of £74.1m at the quarter end, made up of £42.3m of liquidity and £31.8m of 47 freehold pub acquisitions funded from cash reserves and drawing on the revolving credit facility (RCF).
