Anyone holding this share, any comment? It recommended by few brokers.

RTN + CINE
if CINE is reckoned to be good defensively in these difficult times, then it may be worth revisiting RTN (sp bouncing on 50 dma) many of whose sites are alongside

RTN has been justifiably whacked in recent weeks, but there is the additional thought that some predator may take them out - not a reason to buy in itself

============

just bought a few for my sipp at 321
may need to tuck away for a while,but looked a reasonable risk/reward

RTN
big rise (+13% = 50p = 427) with similar volume
already 5m traded against norm of 2m for the day

CEO has been booted and also not impossible that a bid is being lined for them as was suggested some time back following the lousy results

Well done here cynic.

Well done :-))

thanks chaps :-)
as always, one regrets not having more, but we all know about the greed syndrome

You did say as well :-))

Cineworld thread

cynic - 11 Jul 2016 20:11 - 384 of 393

worth looking at RTN in conjunction with this

12 Aug Canaccord... 550.00 Buy
12 Aug Panmure Gordon 335.00 Hold
12 Aug Peel Hunt 380.00 Hold

another interesting article in today's ST

dividend likely to be cut by about 12%, reflecting crummy trading results (due this coming friday)
however, there remainns a strong possibility of a takeover

it'll be interesting to see which way the shares move in the coming days

StockMarketWire.com
Restaurant Group said its trading is in line and maintained its guidance for the FY as it swung to an H1 loss.

Pretax loss for the six-month period was £22.5m, from a profit of £36.9m. Revenue was £358.67m, from £333.78m.

"This has been a challenging trading period for our Leisure brands, albeit with a good performance from our pubs and concessions businesses," said chair Debbie Hewitt in a statement.

"The Board has moved quickly to undertake a review of the operating strategy and we now have clarity on the issues facing our Leisure brands, particularly Frankie & Benny's.

"The brand remains relevant and popular and we are confident that improved performance will be achieved by being more customer-focussed and data-driven, and through better operational execution.

"a new executive team is in place to lead the implementation of this first phase of the review and to apply the learnings to our other brands.

"The Company is profitable, highly cash generative and has a strong balance sheet, and given our confidence in the current trading forecast, we are declaring an interim dividend of 6.8 pence per share, unchanged from last year."

HIGHLIGHTS:
- Challenging trading period across Leisure brands; good performance from Pubs and Concessions

- Total revenue up 3.4%* to £358.7m with like-for-like sales down 3.9%

- Operating profit down 4.4%* to £37.5m

- Strong free cash flow of £35.8m

- 33 underperforming sites identified for closure/sale

- Exceptional charge of £59.1m reflecting prospective site closures and 29 site asset value impairments

- EPS down 3.0% to 14.3p on a trading basis and down to -11.2p on a statutory basis

- Interim dividend maintained at 6.8p per share, reflecting confidence in our current trading forecast

- First phase of operating strategy review completed

- Appointment of new Executive team; strengthening of Board with appointment of two new NEDs.

The Restaurant Group, the owner of the Frankie & Benny's and Chiquito chains, will sell or close 33 outlets.
Restaurant Group, which runs 500 theme restaurants, said it had been a "challenging trading period".
It said its Frankie & Benny's chain had "suffered due to insufficient focus on value, unsuccessful menu development and poor operational execution".
Those outlets had lost customers after "significant price increases and the removal of popular value offers".

StockMarketWire.com
The Restaurant Group sees its FY results in line with previous guidance, but adds that, while total turnover in the 53 weeks to Jan. 1 was up 3.7% to £710.7m, like-for-like sales fell 3.9%. It sees a difficult H1 2017.

"Recent trading continues to be challenging, with 2016 quarter four like-for-like sales down 5.9%, driven by underperformance across our Leisure brands," the company said.

"We expect the trading performance of the business in the first half of 2017 to remain difficult, but anticipate momentum improving towards the end of this transitional year as our initiatives start to take effect."

The group added that during 2017 it would also face well-documented external cost pressures from the increases in the National Living Wage, the National Minimum Wage, the Apprenticeship Levy, the revaluation of business rates, higher energy taxes and increased purchasing costs due to the combined effects of a devalued pound, and commodity inflation.

The group closed 37 sites and opened 24 during the 53-week period that ended 1st Jan.

As presented at the time of its interims, The Restaurant Group had started price and menu trials across Frankie & Benny's, which confirmed that substantial price and proposition changes were required.

"Our strategic review of our other Leisure brands has revealed a need for similarly significant change. We are at the beginning of a transformation programme."

Final results for the 52 weeks ended 31 December 2017


Strategic highlights


· Proposition enhancements in Frankie & Benny's are driving improving volume momentum

· Good progress across other Leisure brands

· Pubs business continues to outperform the market and pipeline of new opportunities further strengthened

· Concessions business expanding into new infrastructure hubs, and with relevant new brands

· Cost reduction programme of £10m delivered ahead of plan, enabling reinvestment in Leisure business

· Enhanced senior leadership team in place

Financial highlights


· Like-for-like sales down 3.0%

· Total sales down 1.8% on a 52 week comparable basis; down 4.4% on a statutory basis

· Adjusted1 profit before tax of £56.7m (2016: £77.1m). Statutory profit before tax of £43.6m (20162: loss of £49.3m)

· Exceptional pre-tax charge of £13.2m (20162: £126.5m)

· Adjusted1 EBITDA of £95.1m (2016: £121.0m)

· Adjusted1 EPS of 22.3p (2016: 30.0p). Statutory EPS of 16.4p (20162: 24.0p loss per share)

· Continued strong free cash flow of £84.9m (2016: £78.9m)

· Operating cash flow of £107.6m (2016: £122.1m)

· Net bank debt of £21.6m at year-end (2016: £28.3m)

· Total full year dividend maintained at 17.4p per share, reflecting the Board's confidence in delivery of the plan

The highlights reflect the statutory 52 week year in 2017 versus the statutory 53 week year in 2016 unless stated otherwise

1 Adjusted reflects pre-exceptional costs and is further defined in the glossary at the end of this report

2 As restated, refer to note 1 for details

Andy McCue, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"As expected, 2017 was a transitional year for the Group, with significant investments made in price and proposition within our Leisure business, which is driving improving volume momentum. We start 2018 with a significantly more competitive offering in our Leisure business, a strengthened pipeline of growth opportunities in both our Pubs and Concessions businesses, and a leaner, faster and more focused organisation. I'd like to thank our colleagues for embracing the change agenda and for their contribution to stabilising the business."

Trading Update

The Restaurant Group plc (the "Group") today provides an update on trading for the 52 weeks ended 30 December 2018 ("the period").

Like-for-like sales for the period were down 2.0%, with total sales increasing by 1.0%*. The Group has delivered like-for-like sales growth since the World Cup, with our Pubs business continuing to consistently trade ahead of the pub restaurant sector and our Concessions business trading strongly. Our Leisure business exhibited improved like-for-like sales momentum through 2018, but was impacted by weaker cinema admissions in December.

We opened a record 21 new pubs (inclusive of acquisitions) and a record 21 new concessions units during the year.

We expect to deliver an adjusted PBT outcome for the 2018 full year in line with current market expectations.

As previously announced, the acquisition of Wagamama formally completed on 24 December 2018. Wagamama has continued to trade well over the festive period and we look forward to delivering the benefits of the acquisition as outlined in the "2018 Prospectus" and creating significant long-term value for our shareholders.

Andy McCue, Chief Executive Officer, commented:

"2018 has been a pivotal year for the Group in which we have opened a record number of new sites in both our Pubs and Concessions businesses as well as acquiring an extremely high quality business in Wagamama.

The enlarged business is now orientated strongly towards growth with a number of exciting opportunities ahead. We are focused on executing on our multi-pronged growth strategy and plans for the site conversions and cost synergies are progressing well."

* The total sales figure includes one week of trade from Wagamama. The like-for-like sales figure does not include Wagamama.