Inventive Leisure last week announced mixed results for the Christmas trading period.
Although the opening of six new Revolution vodka bars helped push sales 18% higher for the three weeks ended 3 January 2004, like-for-like sales at Revolution showed a 7% decline.
However, this was a slight improvement on an 8.5% drop in like-for-like sales announced in a November profit warning covering the five months to that month, which was blamed on the long hot summer and a decline in students visiting its bars.
Despite the decline chief executive Roy Ellis was upbeat. "Given the general market environment in the last six months, our trading over Christmas and New Year was pleasing," he said.
Nigel Popham, director of analyst Tether & Greenwood, thought the business was stabilising.
The company, which operates about 40 bars and nightclubs, appears to be nursing a hangover after its 2002-03 party. During the year to 30 June it posted record profits of £3.8m, 21% up on 2002, and saw Revolution sales rocket 50% year-on-year to £35.1m.