Luminar, the late-night operator, has reported that trading for the year to 1 March 2007 was in line with expectations and its strategy for the creation of a high-quality branded destination venue business remains on track.
In a pre-close statement, the company, which said in January that it had experienced a positive trading performance in the second half of 2006, reported that its branded dancing business has continued its strong performance into the new year.
It also said that the performance of its newly opened clubs has been encouraging, with gross margins continuing the upward trend experienced throughout the year.
Following the announcement, Douglas Jack, analyst at Panmure Gordon, maintained a Buy recommendation for the group, with a price target of 850p.
He said: “We believe this trend should continue in the first half of next year against weak comparatives, bringing the possibility of forecast upgrades. If this occurs, an increase in the amount of capital to be returned to shareholders could follow.”
Luminar, which brands include Oceana and Liquid, said that its previously reported plan to buyback £70m of shares, which it doubled to £140m after the sale of non-core assets in January, over three years is on schedule.
It acquired over 3.3m shares during its last financial year as part of its programme of returning excess capital to shareholders, which represented 4.6% of its issued share capital and £23m in value.
The company also said that its 2007/2008 opening programme and preparations for the forthcoming smoking bans in both Wales and England are proceeding to plan.
Earlier this week the company announced it is investing £5m opening a “superclub” venue in Portsmouth.
The group is currently converting a former army drill hall on Stanhope Road near the Guildhall Walk “circuit” into the five-bar venue.
