Companies: PRZ   

Fledgling pizza and pasta restaurant operator Prezzo today (27 September) slumped 16% as it released its first results since listing on Aim following a £1.3m (net) fundraising at 50p. The 6 months to June reaped a £55,000 pre-tax profit, down from £94,000, achieved on sales raised 13% to £1.2m. Earnings per share were down from 0.6p to 0.2p. The company said its figures were affected by 'the heavy pre-opening costs' of doubling its estate to 8 sites during the period, with openings in Mayfair, Croydon, Islington and Salisbury. But the small increase in sales for this busy period must be of concern, even though Prezzo admits its policy of gaining customers by relying on word-of-mouth means sales will take time to build up. The share price rightfully puts a lot of value on the Kaye clan's strong presence on the board - with young Jonathan being 1 of 2 managing directors and ASK Central doyen Philip in an advisory role. At present £14m still looks like a rather demanding valuation for the business, despite the £3.5m of cash. One to keep an eye on though.