PizzaExpress earnings hit by industry pressures

30 August 2018 by
PizzaExpress earnings hit by industry pressures

PizzaExpress' earnings were hit by industry cost pressures and the turbulent weather conditions in the UK as well as lower operating margins internationally, according to its half-year results.

Group earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) were down 16.3% to £35.1m the pizza chain's half year results for the 26 weeks ended 1 July 2018 revealed. PizzaExpress reported a 2.5% increase in group turnover to £262.8m, although like-for-like sales were down by 1.1%.

Underlying like-for-like sales grew 0.9% in the UK and Ireland, excluding the impact from adverse weather conditions, which saw nearly 90 PizzaExpress restaurants close due to snow, before hot weather in the late spring impacted visitors.

The group opened three new sites in the UK and Ireland during the period, including its second roadside services franchise site.

Internationally, total sales grew 10.4% with 15 new site openings despite like-for-like sales falling 3%.

Jinlong Wang, group chairman and chief executive of PizzaExpress, said: "The strength of our brand and the quality of our customer experience means PizzaExpress has continued to deliver a resilient performance in the UK & Ireland, despite the widely publicised pressures that continue to impact the UK eating out market

"Looking ahead, we expect the UK trading environment to remain challenging. The strength of our brand means that our trading performance has been resilient in such conditions, however more than ever we are looking at how we improve and develop our business to better enhance our customers' experience. We remain committed to our international markets and are working hard to refine our offer overseas."

Cost pressures hit PizzaExpress but tough trading fails to dampen results >>

Pizza Hut UK bosses complete management buyout >>

Get The Caterer every week on your smartphone, tablet, or even in good old-fashioned hard copy (or all three!).

The Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email

Start the working day with The Caterer’s free breakfast briefing email

Sign Up and manage your preferences below

Check mark icon
Thank you

You have successfully signed up for the Caterer Breakfast Briefing Email and will hear from us soon!

Jacobs Media is honoured to be the recipient of the 2020 Queen's Award for Enterprise.

The highest official awards for UK businesses since being established by royal warrant in 1965. Read more.

close

Ad Blocker detected

We have noticed you are using an adblocker and – although we support freedom of choice – we would like to ask you to enable ads on our site. They are an important revenue source which supports free access of our website's content, especially during the COVID-19 crisis.

trade tracker pixel tracking