Capital Bars, owner of Dublin pubs such as Zanzibar and Major Toms, has moved into the black in the first half, despite facing a difficult trading environment in the last few months.
But the company says its business remains under pressure and it has had to downgrade its results forecast for the year to September 30th to reflect the state of the consumer economy and the impact of Government intervention on its market.
The group reported a small pre-tax profit of €490,000 (£385,906) in the half year ending April 1st, compared to a loss of €1.4 million in the same period a year earlier.
Turnover was up 34 per cent at €21.5 million, reflecting the opening of a number of new premises such as Coyote and Bob's Bar in 2000. But it was down by 3 per cent on a like-for-like basis.
However, the group described the results as "very creditable" given the economic background. "We have had to contend with Government restrictions on our pricing and admissions policies, limiting our ability to offset the unprecedented wage inflation suffered in 2000," it said.
Capital said it also faced increased competition after the relaxation of trading hours in Dublin, heightened transport difficulties for customers because of the taxi and Aer Lingus strikes and the foot-and-mouth crisis. All this took place in the context of a weaker global economy and its impact on consumer confidence.
On current trading, Capital said like-for-like sales since April were in line with last year and total sales were 32 per cent ahead. The group believes the expected return of stability to its marketplace and the completion of its opening programme - it has just opened Sosueme, a 1,000-plus capacity Japanese-style bar in Dublin - will help it realise its potential.
The group said it was not declaring an interim or final dividend because of its continuing investment in development and a partial preference share redemption on July 1st.
Because of limitations on its distributable reserves, it can only redeem £1.7 million sterling (€2.8 million) of the preference shares. The balance of £1.3 million sterling will be redeemed as further distributable profits arise.
