Krispy Kreme UK, the Alcuin Capital Partners-backed doughnut retailer, reported a pre-tax loss of £2.8m for the year to 31 January 2013 against a £1.3m profit in 2011 and said it had suspended its openings programme to focus on profitability of its existing opertaions.
The c55-strong group, from which joint managing director Rob Hunt stepped down this summer, reported a 6% increase in sales for the period to £45m.
Gross profit margin in the 2013 year dropped to 47% from 49.7% in 2011, while adjusted EBITDA stood at £1.48m, down 65% from £4.19m the year before.
The company said it expects to return to new openings in due course and that its directors were pleased with the trading performance of the group since February 2013, in particular the performance of its new Edinburgh store.
Company loans and covenants were renegotiated in July this year and the company said it would now “trade comfortably” within the new covenants agreed, reflecting the directors’ view that the “wider Krispy Kreme group will report improved performance over the coming period”.
It said: “Agreement was reached on 19 July with both Santander and Indigo for the waiver of covenant breaches and revision of the rolling quarterly covenants for the current year, which was adjusted for the underperformance in the year. Indigo also agreed to the deferral of all interest due under the loan facility by the company’s immediate parent undertaking, Frimley Bidco.”
In June last year, the group announced plans to double its presence in the UK with the opening of 10 stores a year for the next five years, which will take its estate to nearly 100 by 2016.
Since the year end, Mike Dowell, the former Costa Coffee and Pitcher & Piano executive, joined the company as a director.
