Revenues for the six months dropped from £222 million to £213 million while headline earnings fell from £105 million to £94 million, largely reflecting the sold-off pubs.
Eighteen months on from its £600 million debt-for-equity restructuring, Punch has cut its net debts by £288 million to £1.2 billion, which is more than made up by £1.4 billion of junior bonds.
With the cash from disposals and rising cashflow Garrood said Punch could start looking at refinancing some debt in the next financial year.
