Various Eateries trades in line with FY expectations

Revenues were slightly higher than market expectations at £45.5m, up from £40.7m a year earlier, largely driven by new site openings, while site underlying earnings were expected to be roughly £3.8m and group underlying losses were pegged to be approximately £1.6m.

Various Eateries said group like-for-like sales, excluding the benefit of the reduced rate of VAT in the prior year, were maintained, which it believes to be "good performance" considering the "challenging macroeconomic environment", continued train strikes and "unseasonably wet weather" in the spring and summer months.

The AIM-listed group said previously announced inflationary pressures had persisted throughout the year but noted that encouragingly, some were beginning to ease. Reducing operational costs and improving efficiency remain priorities, VARE said, along with exploring technological solutions.

Various Eateries added that it feels a focus on the top line as opposed to short-term profit maximisation was "fundamental to the success of any roll-out strategy" and has continued to prioritise revenue and customer retention, deliberately not passing cost increases onto customers in full.

Chairman Andy Bassadone said: "We continue to believe our strategy of focusing on the top line will leave us in a stronger long-term position than many in our industry who have compromised their offerings to protect short-term profits. Encouragingly, there are signs that some of the well-publicised pressures on margins are beginning to dissipate. Nonetheless, we continue to prioritise cost control and efficiency initiatives including leveraging new technology which will benefit the group long after we emerge from the downturn.

"Looking ahead to FY24, we intend to maintain a measured approach to opening new sites and, supported by strong and highly relevant brands, remain confident in our ability to accelerate progress as conditions improve."

As of 1230 GMT, Various Eateries shares were down 1.79% at 27.50p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com