Australia’s largest publican, the ASX-listed Endeavour Group, aka ALH, reported mixed financial results this week, prompting a share price surge.
Representing the milestone of its first full financial reporting period since listing, Endeavour (ASX:EDV) has both benefitted and suffered at the hands of the COVID pandemic.
The announcement Monday cited its hotel operations, a portfolio of 342 venues operated by ALH, continues to be impacted by containment measures, seeing revenues down 26 per cent when compared to the second half of 2019.
Sales across the company were relatively flat against the prior corresponding period, down 0.3 per cent to $6.3bn, despite online sales increasing 24.8 per cent to $603m.
This translated to EBIT increasing 3.2 per cent to $556m, and NPAT (net profit after tax) across the group growing 15.6 per cent, to $311m. Earnings per share (EPS) is up 16 per cent, to 17.4 cents.
“Our Hotels business was particularly hard hit in H1 F22. There were multiple and extensive COVID-19 impacts in the first quarter, including lockdowns in the key markets of Victoria and New South Wales,” Endeavour Group managing director and CEO Steve Donohue offered in the release.
“We have however, continued to invest in our Hotels, retained core team members, deployed new digital services and created COVIDSafe environments; all of which enabled the business to rebound strongly during periods when COVID-19 impacts abated.”
The period saw Endeavour’s retail store network increase by 24 stores (net), and commence the rollout of ‘Dan Murphy’s 2.0’.
EDV’s share price last week closed at $6.50. The announcement Monday saw it leap to $7.23, and by Tuesday it closed at $7.41, up 14 per cent on prior to the results.
Monday also brought announcement of the appointment of Mario Volpe as MD of Hotels, and on Tuesday came news from EDV that major shareholder and former MD Bruce Mathieson had purchased around 8.4 million additional shares last September.
Since launch mid-2021, the Endeavour share price has surpassed market returns during a turbulent period, reflecting considerable gains against an ASX 200 index growth over the past 12 months of 5.9 per cent.
EDV closed down again today, at $7.04.