Pan-Asian restaurant group Wagamama today announces a strong financial year for the 52 weeks ending 24 April 2016. The group has traded ahead of the competition for over 2 years (for 112 consecutive weeks*) and is well placed to continue to grow in the UK and internationally.
The strong results reflect the active management of the UK owned estate. The Kaizen project, which seeks continuous improvement in all restaurantsacross all aspects of operations, including new and rebuild designed restaurantsas well as the refurbishment of key existing restaurants, successfully drove higher average unit volumes. By the end of FY 2017, the majority of the estate will be new, rebuilt or refurbished. The company has also continued to build its iconic restaurant brand internationally with a focus on the US owned estate and new European franchise markets.
Currently the group operates 158 restaurants in 18 countries worldwide.
Financial highlights:
- Turnover increased by 19.0% to £228.1m, in comparison with £191.7m in FY 2015
- UK like-for-like sales grew by 13.1%, significantly outperforming the competitive market
- USA like-for-like sales grew by 11.3%
- Adjusted EBITDA up by 28.0% to £38.7m reflecting improved sales momentum and margin enhancement initiatives
- Significantly deleveraged since bond issue and continued strong cash conversion
Operational highlights:
- New UK openings, extensive refurbishment programme and rebuilds, including Heathrow Terminal 5
- Focused development of US owned estate, currently Boston and New York City
- Second lease secured in East Village, New York City
- New European franchisee agreements signed in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy, with growth in existing franchise markets
- Growth across portfolio driven by increase in covers and average spend per head
David Campbell, CEO of wagamama, said:
“I’m delighted to report these fantastic results, which reflects the hard work delivered by the team throughout the past year to ensure our brand, UK estate upgrade, and continued international expansion is a great success.
“Having established a strong UK brand, which has now outperformed the UK restaurant market for 112 consecutive weeks, we are excited to be moving further down a path to create an iconic international restaurant brand. The USA is a significant opportunity for us and we have already initiated our growth strategy with the acquisition of two leases in New York. We have also further bolstered our European footprint by adding new European franchise markets.
“We have great people throughout the business and a talented executive team in place to continue to make this business a success. We are confident that with our market leading position, well invested portfolio and stable and resilient business model we are well positioned for future growth.”
*Performance measured versus GCA Peach tracker to 26 June 2016
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