Profit growth a piece of cake for Patisserie Valerie owner

BIRMINGHAM-based catering group Patisserie Holdings has seen strong increases in half year revenues and profits as the business continues to focus on its continued expansion.

The group, parent of cake and coffee shops Patisserie Valerie and Druckers, together with sandwich shop chain Philpotts, saw revenue for the six months to March 31, 2017 increase 11% to £55.5m (H1 2016: £50m), with pre-tax profit rising 15.7% to £9.7m (H1 2016: £8.4m).

Basic earnings per share rose 19% to 7.95p (H1 2016: 6.68p) and the group has declared a 20% increase in half year dividend to 1.20p per share (H1 2016: 1.00p).

In outlook, it said performance in the six weeks after the period end had been good with a strong Easter period.

Its roll-out programme for new shops remains in track with a series of new locations targeted for the remainder of the year.

Luke Johnson, executive chairman, said: “We have delivered another strong set of results with growth in both revenues and profit and excellent cash conversion despite the challenging market conditions and the current inflationary environment.

“We have opened 10 new stores including our first international store in the Republic of Ireland, and the pipeline to the end of the year to achieve our target of 20 new store openings is on track.

“With a strong balance sheet and an experienced management team, we remain operationally focused on the organic delivery and continue to assess acquisition opportunities. Accordingly I am confident of delivering a successful second half of the year and beyond.”

In the first half of the year, we have delivered another strong performance, both financially and operationally, due to our robust operating model, strong management team and appealing brands.

Half year revenues from its principal brand, Patisserie Valerie were £40.4m, up £5.5m or 15.7% (2016: £35.0m) and revenues from its other brands were £15.9m, up £0.1m or 0.6% (2016: £15.8m).

Revenue from its website continues to grow with digital sales in the period of £1.6m, up £0.2m or 14.3% (2016: £1.4m).

Its Cakeclub membership increased by 22,000 members in the period, up to 383,000, with an ever increasing social media following.

Seasonal ranges were said to have performed particularly well in the period with sales from its winter menu up more than 160% – it sold over 103,000 mince pies and its new festive afternoon tea range sold over 26,000 units.