Revolution Bars H1 losses widen as revenues tumble

City centre bar chain Revolution Bars said on Tuesday that first-half losses had ballooned as revenues tumbled due to Covid-19 lockdowns weighing heavily on trading.

Revolution revealed that statutory pre-tax losses had widened from £1.6m to £17.7m due to the Covid-19 pandemic, while revenues had slumped from £81.2m in the prior year to £21.6m this year.

The AIM-listed group also swung from an adjusted pre-tax profit of £2.9m to an adjusted pre-tax loss of £11.5m, while earnings per share of 4.4p in the first half of 2020 were erased with 2021's interim adjusted loss per share of 12.0p.

Revolution added that a company voluntary arrangement for Revolution Bars in the first half of the trading year resulted in the exit of five loss-making sites, with a further site exited via the CVA in the second half.

The company stated that customer demand remained "strong" and that it was "well positioned" to capitalise on a transformer marketplace.

Chief executive Rob Pitcher said: "Prior to the pandemic the business was outperforming our peer group. This year has provided us with the opportunity to advance the business across multiple areas which will allow us to maximise our future performance and capitalise on growth opportunities as we move towards more normalised conditions.

"With the vaccination programme running ahead of the government's expectation and all the Covid-19 related health data exceeding even the most optimistic of forecasts, I look forward to all restrictions on personal freedoms falling away on the 21st of June and urge the Prime Minister to follow the data, not dates, and bring our 'national day of freedom' forward in line with the vastly better outcomes that have been achieved."

As of 0905 BST, Revolution shares were up 1.62% at 30.89p.