Gowrings Sees 39% Rise in Restaurant Sales, Eyes Expansion

Gowrings, a UK-based mini-conglomerate operating Burger King franchises and Ford motor dealerships, reported a 39% rise in sales from its restaurant division in the first half of the year, driven by the opening of eight new Burger King outlets in Birmingham. The group's total Burger King franchises are set to increase to 37 with the addition of six more restaurants by next June. While like-for-like sales from its restaurants were up 6%, operating profits from the motor division remained flat at £728,000. Derek Coulson, chief executive, emphasized that restaurant profits will continue to grow faster than motor operations, despite pressure from venture capitalist Guinness Peat Group to focus on food.

Key Takeaways:

Gowrings' restaurant division saw a 39% rise in sales, driven by the opening of eight new Burger King outlets in Birmingham.
The group's total Burger King franchises will increase to 37 with the addition of six more restaurants by next June.
Like-for-like sales from its restaurants were up 6%, while operating profits from the motor division remained flat at £728,000.
Gowrings' pre-tax profits were up 22% to £491,000 on turnover of £50.3m, despite an exceptional loss of £96,000 on the sale and leaseback of its Wokingham dealership.
Turnover in the motor division was 11% higher at £38.3m, driven by a 23% rise in used-car sales.
The group paid an interim dividend of 1.4p (1.25p) from earnings of 3.41p (3p).
Shares in Gowrings gained 2p to 135.5p.

Statistics:

39% rise in sales from Gowrings' restaurant division
6% increase in like-for-like sales from its restaurants
25% rise in operating profits from the restaurant division
1% increase in operating profits from the motor division
22% rise in pre-tax profits
£491,000 in pre-tax profits
£516,000 in operating profits from the restaurant division
£728,000 in operating profits from the motor division
£50.3m in turnover
11% increase in turnover in the motor division
23% rise in used-car sales
Interim dividend of 1.4p (1.25p)
Share price increase of 2p to 135.5p

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