Caffe Nero, the Italian-style coffee bar chain, announced its first full-year profit this morning and said trading for the first quarter of the new year was already 20% up on 2002.
Pre-tax profit -before amortisation) in the year to May 31 was £1m, against a loss for 2002 of £2.3m. Turnover was up 48% to £39.4m, with like-for-like store sales up 4%
Store profitability increased 77% to £7.3m, like-for-like store sales were up 4%, ebitda rose 277% to £4.2m and operating profit before amortisation came in at £1.64m, against a loss last year of £800,000. Non-adjusted pre-tax profit was £519,000
The company, which currently has 131 stores in 42 UK towns and cities, said it expects to have 160 stores by May 2004. It had cash balances of £5.7m at the year end, and up to £5m of available bank financing to fund continued expansion
The company's executive chairman, Gerry Ford, said Caffe Nero was rated the number one coffee bar brand in the UK by consumers for the fourth consecutive year in the Allegra Report 2003 and ,rand awareness for Caffe Nero among coffee consumers was 67% last year. Caffe Nero, Starbucks and Costa Coffee between them now represent 58% of the $540m UK branded market, meaning the company had become "not only one of the three dominant UK coffee house players, but, amongs the three, the brand growing market share the fastest."
Ford said the company's roll-out programme had a two pronged strategy: build up clusters of sites in larger urban areas, and target smaller, desirable, regional towns. Thus in the greater Manchester area it now had nine stores; in greater Birmingham, four; and, in the Leeds area three. At the same time it was trying to build up a presence in smaller regional towns, such as Worthing, Chesham, Maidstone, Durham and Rickmansworth.
Ford said the company's goals were to maintain its consumer rating, achieve its profit objectives, and grow its UK estate to a level that will enable Caffe Nero, through its own cash-flow, to self-finance all future UK store growth at a rate of 35 to 40 stores a year.
Pre-tax profit -before amortisation) in the year to May 31 was £1m, against a loss for 2002 of £2.3m. Turnover was up 48% to £39.4m, with like-for-like store sales up 4%
Store profitability increased 77% to £7.3m, like-for-like store sales were up 4%, ebitda rose 277% to £4.2m and operating profit before amortisation came in at £1.64m, against a loss last year of £800,000. Non-adjusted pre-tax profit was £519,000
The company, which currently has 131 stores in 42 UK towns and cities, said it expects to have 160 stores by May 2004. It had cash balances of £5.7m at the year end, and up to £5m of available bank financing to fund continued expansion
The company's executive chairman, Gerry Ford, said Caffe Nero was rated the number one coffee bar brand in the UK by consumers for the fourth consecutive year in the Allegra Report 2003 and ,rand awareness for Caffe Nero among coffee consumers was 67% last year. Caffe Nero, Starbucks and Costa Coffee between them now represent 58% of the $540m UK branded market, meaning the company had become "not only one of the three dominant UK coffee house players, but, amongs the three, the brand growing market share the fastest."
Ford said the company's roll-out programme had a two pronged strategy: build up clusters of sites in larger urban areas, and target smaller, desirable, regional towns. Thus in the greater Manchester area it now had nine stores; in greater Birmingham, four; and, in the Leeds area three. At the same time it was trying to build up a presence in smaller regional towns, such as Worthing, Chesham, Maidstone, Durham and Rickmansworth.
Ford said the company's goals were to maintain its consumer rating, achieve its profit objectives, and grow its UK estate to a level that will enable Caffe Nero, through its own cash-flow, to self-finance all future UK store growth at a rate of 35 to 40 stores a year.
