Prezzo, the Italian restaurant chain led by chief executive Jonathan Kaye, this morning reported an 11% increase in adjusted ebitda to £18.8m for the 53 weeks to 2nd January.
The listed operator, which recently acquired six former Paramount Restaurant sites, saw revenue also increase by 15% to £104.8m, up from £91.0m in 2009.
Unveiling its full year results, the company, which currently operates 160 sites, said pre-tax profit rose 12% to £14.4m, and added that the first quarter of 2011 “has started in an encouraging fashion”.
The company, which also operates the Chimichanga brand, opened 20 new restaurants in 2010 compared to just two in 2009, including restaurants in prime, city-centre locations such as St David's Centre, Cardiff: St Vincent's Place, Glasgow: and St Martin's Lane, London.
Part of this growth came from the group’s first acquisition of 11 former Caffe Uno sites for £3.1m, which the company is currently rebranding, with five already trading as Prezzo and one as a Chimichanga. The company said it was “pleased with the sales uplifts we have seen in early trading” through the converted sites.
Prezzo said it anticipated opening at least 20 new restaurants over the course of the year and that its 2011 pipeline was “encouraging”. It said it had “sufficient cash to comfortably fund its anticipated expansion plans for the foreseeable future”.
Michael Carlton, chairman, said: “I believe that the steady trading and strong new openings of 2010 are testament to the growing stature of the Prezzo brand, a consequence of our attention to the design and detail of our stylish restaurants and the emphasis we place on menu development, service delivery and our value for money proposition.
“I am pleased to report that the first quarter of 2011 has started in an encouraging fashion and with a strong development pipeline in place, we are confident of delivering a positive outcome for the year ahead.”
It recommended that the final dividend payment for the year was increased to 0.225p (2009 - 0.2p) per 5p ordinary share, which will be paid on 8 July 2011 to shareholders.
