Roadchef, the motorway service station operator, has reported a 4.6% increase in ebitda to £3.3m for the 12 weeks to 11 March 2007 compared to the same period last year.
The company, which was acquired by Delek Real Estate, the Israeli property company, for £375m last month, said operating profit for the 12 weeks was £0.8m, in line with the previous year.
Total sales for the quarter were £52.6m, £1.5m ahead of last year’s figure.
For the rolling 52 weeks to 12 March, ebitda increased by 7.8% from £27.6m to £29.7m, while operating profit climbed 8.3% to £19.5m from £18m the previous year.
The company said that the settlement of the claim with the government in respect of part of its Maidstone site was included as an operational exceptional item of £1.8m.
The company, which has 30 sites over 20 motorway service areas, said sales at the Costa Coffee units, which it operates under a franchise deal with Whitbread, were up £0.5m, an increase of 17% on the previous year.
Catering sales, which were boosted by the performance of Costa, grew by £0.2m, up 2.7% year on year.
Sales from the company’s 11 lodges operating under the Premier Travel Inn brand were £0.8m, an increase of 6.9% compared with last year.
Occupancies for the quarter were 44.1%, down from 45.3% in 2006, however, this was offset by an increase in achieved room rate to £46.46 compared with £42.28 the previous year.
The company said that the business “continues to trade broadly in line with last year” and that a number of initiative aimed at increasing profitability are being progressed.
