Shares in Hollywood Bowl Group PLC (LSE:BOWL) were knocked 9% lower to 270p after it said the recent and prolonged period of good UK weather had an impact on trading in the first half of its financial year.
Revenue for the 10-pin bowling chain came in at £129.2 million for the six months ended 31 March 2025, up 8.4% compared to last time. Like-for-like revenue rose 2.1%, with the UK up 1.30% and Canada 13.6%.
Three new UK centres opened in Swindon, Preston and Inverness. Four refurbishments were completed in the UK. In Canada, two new centres opened and two were refurbished.
Adjusted profit before tax fell 9.4% to £28 million, while statutory PBT declined 4% to £28.3 million.
CEO Stephen Burns said there had been "excellent progress" with the growth strategy in the UK and Canada, with investment in new centres, a refurbishment programme and customer experience that all "continue to deliver excellent returns and record customer satisfaction scores".
He added: "The prolonged period of unprecedented dry and warm weather from March to May, has had a short-term impact on trading. However, we've responded quickly, managing margins and costs while maintaining strong operational performance, which remains as good as it's ever been."
The group is "well positioned" for the key summer holiday period, he said, expressing confidence that full-year earnings will be "within the range of current analyst forecasts".
Analysts at Peel Hunt said the good UK weather "will have hurt LFL sales" in the third quarter, and so cut their PBT forecasts from £52.6 million to £50 million.
"The 2025E downgrade is driven by a 1% cut in our sales forecast, which in turn is driven by good weather. Otherwise, the attraction of the business model is intact, in our view," they said.