Adjusted ebitda rose by 17% to £8.3m at Prezzo in the first half of 2010, up from £7.1m the year before.
The listed operator – which recently acquired 11 leasehold sites and the Caffe Uno brand name from Paramount Restaurants for £3.1m – saw revenue also increase by 11% to 48.4, up from £43.7m, during the same period in 2009.
Unveiling its interim results this morning, Prezzo said that its adjusted pre-tax profit had grown by 21% at £6.2m, up from £5.1m and added it was confident of delivering “a positive outcome for 2010 as a whole.”
The adjusted underlying profit and pre-tax profit excluded a £164,000 charge (for non-trading items, which included a £48,000 loss on the disposal of property, plant, equipment and inventory, £105,000 for the write-off of a rent premium paid for a site where Prezzo now owns the freehold and other charges.
The overall branch profit margin was 14.4% compared with 13.5% for 2009.
The group, which is led by chief executive Jonathan Kaye said it was encouraged by recent trading and that had “given us the confidence to reactivate our wider expansion plans”.
Last month it acquired 11 sites from Paramount for £3.1m – which took the group to a total of 145 sites, along with the opening of a further seven sites.
In its pipeline Prezzo has plans to open restaurants in Bishop’s Stortford, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Milton Keynes.
Cashflow generated from operations was 16% higher at £8.3m and following a £2m charge for corporation tax payments, there was £6.3m of free cash available for investment.
The company added: “Overall, there was a net cash outflow of £3.4m in the period and as at 27 June 2010, net cash balances had fallen to £11.8m.
“However, the current cash resources available to the Company provides us with sufficient cash to fund the Caffe Uno acquisition and the associated capital expenditure, together with our ongoing development programme.”
The group said it would not be paying an interim dividend.
