Restaurant Group’s loss broadens to £234.7 million in the fiscal first half.

Restaurant Group plc (LON: RTN) said on Tuesday that its pre-tax loss in the fiscal first half broadened due to the Coronavirus pandemic that has so far infected more than 500 thousand people in the United Kingdom and caused over 42 thousand deaths.

Shares of the company opened about 8% up on Tuesday. Including the price action, Restaurant Group plc is now exchanging hands at 58 pence per share that represents a close to 150% increase since March when the stock tumbled to as low as 23.50 pence per share due to the COVID-19 restrictions.

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In comparison, Restaurant Group was trading at a much higher 166 pence per share at the start of 2020. Confused about choosing a reliable stockbroker to trade online? Here’s a list of the top few to make selection easier for you.

Restaurant Group faced £132.4 million of an exceptional charge

Restaurant Group said that the COVID-19 crisis also weighed on its H1 revenue. But it expressed confidence that signs of recovery were evident in recent months as the British government eased restrictions. Earlier this year in June, the FTSE SmallCap index member said that it will close 125 of its stores.

The owner of prominent brands like Frankie & Benny’s and Wagamama said its pre-tax loss in the first six months of the current financial year came in at £234.7 million. In the same period last year, it had reported a much narrower loss of £87.7 million.

The London-based company also highlighted on Tuesday that it faced £132.4 million of an exceptional pre-tax charge attributed to additional costs, including for business restructuring. In comparison, exceptional charges were capped at £115.7 million in the comparable of last year.

Restaurant Group’s revenue slides to £227.2 million in the first half

In terms of revenue, the British chain of restaurants and public houses registered £227.2 million versus £515.9 million last year.

As of September 20^th, as per Restaurant Group, close to 90% of its estate have resumed operations. Consequently, in the 11 weeks that concluded on 20^th September, trading remained robust. In separate news from the UK, luxury fashion retailer Mulberry suspended dividend this week as its annual loss widened due to the ongoing health crisis.

Restaurant Group performed fairly upbeat in the stock market last year with an annual gain of more than 15%. At the time of writing, it has a market cap of £340 million.