Restaurant Group reports strong start to the year

15th May 2014 13:42

Investors in FTSE 250-listed Restaurant Group appeared to be partaking in a round of profit-taking on Thursday after the company reported strong trading in the first 19 weeks of the year. It said like-for-like sales were 4% ahead, while total sales rose 11%, compared to the same time the previous year, reflecting what it described as a period of good progress. The news was well-received by brokers, with Panmure and N+1 Singer both reiterating a 'buy' rating on the stock. The group said it had opened 15 new restaurants in the period which were trading well and are set to deliver good returns. "In total we expect to open between 36 and 43 new restaurants this year, roughly half of which will be Frankie and Benny's. The quality of our new site pipeline over the next three years is the strongest we have seen since before the onset of the financial crisis," the group said. "The group is trading in line with expectations, and we are on track to report a very satisfactory first half performance."It also reported that the balance sheet remained strong and said the company continued to benefit from good cash generation from its operations. The share price fell 3.61% to 601p by 14:08. NR