Punch Taverns says like-for-like profit down 12 percent

LONDON (Reuters) - Punch Taverns, the country's biggest pub operator by number of outlets, said trading remained challenging with the economic outlook deteriorating, but it expected to meet debt covenants.

Heavily-indebted Punch said like-for-like profit at its 7,560 leased pubs fell 12 percent in the 20 weeks to January 10, during which period beer sales volume saw a double-digit fall.

Punch, which has over 8,400 pubs in total, said it had increased support to struggling tenants to 1.6 million pounds per month this year, up from 400,000 pounds last year. Assistance was given in the form of rent concessions and increased product discounts.

Punch shares fell by over 90 percent in value last year, reflecting concerns over terms relating to its 4.5 billion pounds debt.

"We anticipate that we will meet the restricted payment condition within both the Punch A and Punch B securitisations this year," Punch said in a statement.

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham)