'Superb' Garfunkel's lifts TRG

9th Mar 2011 08:03

Tourists flocking to its Garfunkel's outlets in Central London helped The Restaurant Group come though the weather, ash clouds and recession last year in decent shape.Profits in 2010 rose by 17% to £56.5m, from £48.3m, on revenues up 7% at £466m. Like-for-like sales fell by 1%.TRG's food outlets, Frankie & Benny's, Chiquito, Garfunkel's and pub restaurants, performed well, delivering a 6% increase in revenues and profits, though Garfunkel's put in a "superb" performance the company said.During the year TRG opened 17 new restaurants in the Leisure division; "these are trading ahead of expectations and are set to deliver strong returns," it said. During 2011, TRG plans to open between 20 and 23 new restaurants.The concessions business did well despite the ash cloud disruption. Revenues rose by 12% and profits which increased by 29%. "These are good results, achieved against a tough backdrop, with earnings per share increasing 14%, operating cashflow up £11m to £88m and net debt £20m lower at £47m. We opened 24 new restaurants last year, which are performing superbly, and we expect to open a similar number this year. 2011 has started well - like-for-like sales grew in both January and February and, after nine weeks, are 3% ahead of last year. Our total sales are currently 8% ahead," chief executive Andrew Page said.The dividend for the year rises by 12.5% to 9p.