Comptoir 'well positioned' to survive Covid-19 crisis, chain insists

Comptoir Group insisted on Tuesday it was in a good position to survive the current Covid-19 crisis, despite reporting a dip in full-year revenues.

The Aim-listed restaurant chain, which specialises in Lebanese and eastern Mediterranean food, said group revenues fell 2.7% in the year to 31 December 2019, to £33.4m. Gross profit edged ahead 0.6% to £24.9m, however, while the loss per share narrowed to 0.54p from 0.62p in 2018. Losses after tax were £607,000, compared to £760,000 a year previously.

Comptoir said it had maintained a cautious approach during the year, which included not opening any brand new restaurants. It did, however, open one re-positioned restaurant in the Westfield shopping centre in west London, and added two franchise sites to the portfolio.

Looking ahead, Richard Kleiner, chairman, said. “We find ourselves in a period of unprecedented uncertainty with the impact from the low consumer confidence previously seen across the sector now very much taking second place to the more immediate unchartered territory coming from the societal impact of Covid-19.”

Comptoir, which has a portfolio of 24 owned and 6 franchised sites, said last month that trading in January and February had been in line with expectations, but it had closed all restaurants in March in response to the coronavirus outbreak.

But Chaker Hanna, chief executive, said: “Despite the challenging economic climate, trading for the full year has been in line with board expectations. It has been a year of consolidation, witnessing continued momentum on operational cost efficiency improvements, alongside a cautious and selective approach to investment.

“A strong balance sheet and further growth in our cash position will stand us in good stead to endure the challenges we are all now facing from Covid-19. The directors believe that the business is well positioned to deliver again once we emerge from the other side of this crisis.”

In a note, Canaccord Genuity, Comptoir’s nomad and broker, called the results “good”.

It continued: “It also enjoyed a good start to the year. However, the world has changed. Comptoir’s auditor has included an emphasis of matter on the going concern statement relating to the crisis, but its balance sheet is in good shape and its scenario analysis indicates that it can cope with substantial demand shock.”

Canaccord has, however, put its ‘buy’ recommendation, 15p price target and forecasts under review.

Comptoir, which has cash reserves of £5.7m, said it was able to remain trading for at least 12 months from the date of signing the full-year results.

As at 1300 BST, shares in Comptoir were trading 4% higher at 3.89p.