IRC confirms drop in sales
Individual Restaurant Company, the publicly listed operator of 22 Piccolino and 11 Restaurant Bar & Grill outlets, confirmed trading in 2010 was down 3.9% on the year due to a number of "one-off factors".
Within its results for the 12 months ended 31 December 2010, IRC said revenues across the group decreased by £2m to £51.3m, compared to £53.3m in 2009, and restaurant EBITDA decreased by £1.1m to £7.7m (2009: £8.8m) as a result.
IRC said profit before tax, non trading items and hedging costs was £200,000 compared to £1.3m in 2009.
As mentioned in a pre-trading update in February, IRC said net debt was £11.7m (£12.4m 2009) and with an £18.5m loan facility in place. The group had headroom of £6.8m remaining.
Steven Walker, chief executive of Manchester-based IRC, said: "Taking into account some adverse one-off factors, trading performance in 2010 was pleasing. We experienced strong like for like sales towards the end of December 2010 and a number of sales initiatives have continued this momentum into the early part of 2011.
"However, we remain cautious as to the future trading environment. Like for like sales growth, whilst positive, has slowed in March and in common with most of the industry, we are also experiencing cost pressures. Nevertheless I remain confident in the robustness and trading potential of both brands."