Final Results - Correction

RNS Number:9923M
Honeycombe Leisure PLC
01 July 2003

The following replaces the Preliminary Results announcement released today 1
July 2003 at 08:00 am under RNS number 9905M. Please be advised that the bullet
point on page one under the section headed highlights should read Adjusted
profit after tax up by 12% to #1.97m  and not Adjusted PBT up by 12% to #1.97m
as previously stated.



All other details remain unchanged, and the full amended text appears below.









Tuesday, 1 July 2003



                             HONEYCOMBE LEISURE PLC

                            PRELIMINARY RESULTS 2003



  Honeycombe Leisure plc, the AIM listed owner-operator of 76 managed pubs is
            today pleased to announce unaudited preliminary results

                       for the Year ended 27th April 2003



                                   HIGHLIGHTS



  * Turnover up 3.8% to #33.68m (2002: #32.45m)
  * Like for like sales increase of 4.3% across period
  * Adjusted profit after tax up by 12% to #1.97m
  * Adjusted EPS up by 10% to 6.7p
  * Gearing significantly reduced to 188% (2002: 288%)
  * Board pleased to recommend a final dividend up 5% to 2.2p giving a total
    of 3.1p for the year (2002: 2.95p)
  * Nectar yielding above-target returns with full investment planned this
    year





Sandy Anderson, Chairman, commented:



"The Board believes that good progress has been made in the year.  We have seen
a pleasing increase in profits, allied to a substantial reduction in gearing and
and we have established ourselves at the forefront of what we believe will
become an increasing industry trend towards the separation of ownership and
management of pub assets.



"The continued state of flux in our industry will provide many more
opportunities for us to manage a much larger portfolio of pubs. We believe that
our strategy provides a sustainable and developing model for a rapidly changing
sector."




Enquiries to:
James Baer, Bryan Wardman,

(Joint Chief Executives)
Honeycombe Leisure PLC                 Tel: [phone] (on 1-3 July 2003)

                                       Tel: [phone] (thereafter)

Paul Snape (Finance Director)
Honeycombe Leisure PLC                 Tel: [phone] (on 1-3 July 2003)

                                       Tel: [phone] (thereafter)

Tarquin Edwards/Chris Steele
Holborn                                Tel: [phone]






Chairman's Statement



Against a background of volatile market conditions for the industry, I am
pleased to report both an increase in profits and a significant reduction in the
level of gearing.



Our strategy for operating unbranded sites, trading away from the intense
competitiveness of the High Street, has delivered a healthy 4.3% increase in
like for like sales and both Trading Divisions have contributed to an increase
in site profitability.



Developing management income streams from pubs that others own, whilst retaining
a strong core estate of our own, is a strategy, which seeks to capitalise on our
proven skills and regional knowledge, allied to our management expertise in
running mid market unbranded sites. Major pub owners are now looking beyond the
traditional tenanted pub as they seek to increase both the size and quality of
their estates. Our track record and managed house infrastructure means that we
are well placed to negotiate further management deals as the pub industry
continues to develop and restructure.



In February, we announced the sale of twelve freehold units to Punch Taverns Plc
for #11.72m. At the same time we entered into a 20 year agreement with Punch to
continue to manage the sites.  The transaction with Punch has helped to
substantially reduce Honeycombe's bank borrowings but, more importantly, it has
established a relationship with the UK's second largest pub operator, providing
a template whereby Honeycombe can grow its estate.  We are currently
investigating new potential acquisitions with Punch.



Honeycombe's management contract with Nectar Taverns Plc, which was set up last
year to acquire and run managed houses, now has eight freehold units, with
offers accepted on a further two, which are still subject to contract.  The
existing trading units continue to yield returns above targeted levels.  Nectar
is planning to reach full investment of its #11m facility by the end of the new
financial year and this will generate a significant level of management fees in
the current and future years.



Following the sale of the sites to Punch which were at above book value, we took
the opportunity to make some individual property disposals. We received proceeds
of #1.5m for three sites which had between them made little site contribution.
The overall net profit from the sale of assets was #1.2m.



The Honeycombe estate at the year end was professionally valued by independent
valuers.  I am pleased to report that the valuation, undertaken in a difficult
market environment, fully supports the existing site book values.  The total of
the individual valuations was #3.4m above previous valuations.  The portfolio
valuation that includes a "lotting premium" has not been reflected in the
accounts, but would have yielded a surplus of #2.5m on book value.



Included within the exceptional charge of #1.6m, there are a number of items
which the Directors felt it prudent to provide.  The major item relates to the
company's one remaining non trading asset being the old Devonshire office, which
in the current uncertain property market, remains unsold. The Directors have
therefore been prudent in making an exceptional charge to profit of #300,000 for
this asset.




Gearing in the year reduced from 288% on 28 April 2002 to 188% on 27 April 2003.

We are currently discussing improved banking terms with the Bank of Scotland
which will allow us to make future selective freehold acquisitions.



We continue to benefit from the tax losses within the Devonshire Group and no
tax will be payable for the year. The charge of #436,581 relates purely to
movement on Deferred Tax. This benefit will continue into the current year.





Dividend



The Board is recommending a final dividend of 2.2p per ordinary share, to be
paid on 17 October 2003 to shareholders on the register on 1 August 2003.This
gives a total dividend for the year of 3.1p (2002:2.95p), an increase of 5%.





Operational Review



Aided by the World Cup which created a good start for the year, we were able to
maintain positive like for like sales during all periods for both bar and food
income.



Bar and food margins have held steady and we have maintained a clear pricing
policy without resorting to heavy discounting. Future improvements in margins
are expected from a recent renegotiation of our wines and spirits contract and
change of main food supplier.



Costs continue to be managed carefully, but legislation changes have contributed
to an increased level of personnel and security costs, whilst we had to absorb
an extra #100,000 of insurance costs, which reflect the sector wide increase in
premiums. We are pleased that despite these additional cost burdens, site
operating margins have held steady at 23.2%.



The considerable improvements made in previous periods have left the bulk of the
estate in good condition, but we have undertaken a number of selective capital
improvements during the year.  In a competitive market, the customer demands
quality and value and we have sought to provide this environment, whilst keeping
many site refurbishments to a modest cost. We have successfully converted two
further sites to our proven Last Orders concept, which provides a consistently
good value drinks offer plus actively promoted and managed Big Screen Sport.





Management Contracts



Whilst the number of new property acquisitions on behalf of Nectar Taverns Plc
was initially slow, there has been a rapid acceleration in the last quarter and
the trading performance of the units has been above the targeted level of
expectation.



A considerable amount of preliminary work has been done with Punch Taverns and
we are confident that deals will be struck on a number of new units in the near
future.



We have also approached other major pub owners with a view to future management
contracts.






We continue to explore further opportunities with Jarvis following the success
of our Manchester student bar agreement.





People



I would like to place on record my appreciation of the service of my colleagues,
at all levels, who continue to demonstrate their commitment to the successful
development of the business.





Licensing Reform and Disability Discrimination Act



Licensing Reform provides opportunities as well as challenges and we are well
prepared to tackle the extra administration that this will bring. We have set up
an 'in house' team to manage the transitional process which is likely to begin
early next year and we are reviewing all our existing licenses to ensure our
businnesses have the optimum operating hours.



Disability Discrimination Act audits are being carried out by our estates team
to ensure that we balance our legal obligations with the commercial opportunity
and costs of this work.





Current Trading



Our like for like sales for the first eight weeks of the new year are neutral,
which on a comparative basis with the World Cup period last year, is
encouraging.  During May, we were pleased to note that when there was no World
Cup factor, like for like sales increased by 3.7%.





Prospects



The Board believes that good progress has been made in the year.  We have seen a
pleasing increase in profits, allied to a substantial reduction in gearing and
and we have established ourselves at the forefront of what we believe will
become an increasing industry trend towards the separation of ownership and
management of pub assets.



The continued state of flux in our industry will provide many more opportunities
for us to manage a much larger portfolio of pubs. We believe that our strategy
provides a sustainable and developing model for a rapidly changing sector.



Sandy Anderson

1 July 2003










Consolidated Profit and Loss Account

                                                           
                                               Year To          Year To          Year To             Year To
                                          27 April 2003    27 April 2003    28 April 2002      28 April 2002
                                                      #                #                #                  #
Turnover  and Other                                           33,679,133                          32,451,688
Operating Income

Cost of Sales           -exceptional                  -                          (66,000)
                        -other             (20,034,012)                      (19,575,310)
                                                            (20,034,012)                        (19,641,310)
Gross Profit                                                  13,645,121                          12,810,378

Distribution Costs                                             (418,649)                           (327,552)

Administration Costs    -exceptional        (1,596,846)                         (436,709)
                        -other              (8,004,904)                       (7,421,788)


                                                             (9,601,750)                          (7,858,497


Amortisation of                                                (432,000)                           (422,948)
Goodwill



Operating Profit                                               3,192,722                           4,201,381

Profit/(Loss) on                                               1,209,447                           (276,207)
disposal of fixed
assets

Interest Receivable                                                    -                              44,467

Interest Payable                                             (2,810,880)                         (2,908,998)

Profit Before Taxation                                         1,591,289                           1,060,643

Taxation                                                       (436,581)                           (501,648)

Profit After Tax                                               1,154,708                             558,995

Dividends                                                      (937,995)                           (847,780)

Retained Profit                                                  216,713                           (288,785)

(Loss)

Earnings per share      Basic                                       3.9p                                1.9p
                        Diluted                                     3.9p                                1.9p
                        Adjusted Basic                              6.7p                                6.1p





Adjusted Earnings per share is calculated by adding back the amortisation of
goodwill, exceptional items and deducting the profit on disposal of fixed assets










Group Balance Sheet



                                          Year ended       Year ended       Year ended     Year ended
                                       27 April 2003    27 April 2003    28 April 2002  28 April 2002
                                                   #                #                #              #
Fixed Assets

Intangible assets                                           7,099,762                       7,531,772
Tangible assets                                            44,749,094                      56,332,503
                                                           51,848,856                      63,864,275
Current Assets

Stocks                                       941,329                           902,482
Debtors                                    1,394,140                         2,317,996
Cash at bank and in hand                   1,833,963                         2,810,542
                                           4,169,432                         6,031,020

Creditors: amounts falling due           (9,506,455)                      (13,186,482)
within one year

Net current liabilities                  (5,337,023)                       (7,155,462)


Total assets less current                                  46.511,833                      56,708,813
liabilities


Creditors: amounts falling due                           (28,049,858)                    (39,188,233)
after more than one year

Provisions for liabilities and                            (2,223,410)                     (2,066,325)
charges

                                                           16,238,565                      15,454,255

Capital and Reserve


Called up share capital                                       296,443                         287,383
Share premium account                                      16,073,967                      15,515,430
Profit and loss account                                     (131,845)                       (348,558)

Equity shareholders' funds                                 16,238,565                      15,454,255





Earnings Per Share Workings



Earnings per share is calculated as follows:


                                                                             Year to              Year to
                                                                       27 April 2003        28 April 2002

Basic:
Profit after taxation - #'000s                                                 1,155                  559
Weighted average number of shares in issue - number                       29,417,854           28,738,308
Basic earnings per share - pence                                                3.9p                  1.9

Diluted:
Profit after taxation - #'000s                                                 1,155                  559
Weighted average number of shares in issue - number                       29,456,540           28,769,531
Diluted earnings per share - pence                                              3.9p                  1.9

Adjusted:
Profit after taxation after adjusting for amortisation of                      1,975                1,761
goodwill, exceptional items, profit/(loss) on sale of assets

Adjusted earnings per share - pence                                             6.7p                 6.1p












Notes

1. General



The preliminary financial statements for the twelve months ended 27 April 2003
were approved by the board of directors on 18 June 2003.


The preliminary financial information set out above does not constitute full
accounts within the meaning of Section 254 of the Companies Act 1985.


The preliminary announcement has been prepared on the basis of the accounting
policies set out in the statutory accounts to 28 April 2002.


Copies of the Report & Accounts will be sent to shareholders shortly.





                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

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