Punch Taverns sees profits slump 19pc The group, which is in negotiations with bondholders to shrink its £2.2bn debt mountain, said net income at its 3,000 core pubs slipped 2.1pc during the 28 weeks to March 3 as cash-strapped households continue to keep a tight rein on their spending. Pre-tax profit was down £8m to £33m during the period, but Punch chief executive Roger Whiteside said the company's disposal strategy, which will see it shrink from about 4,800 pubs to just under 3,000, was on track for this year. Punch expects to have offloaded 400 to 500 pubs by the year-end. Just shy of 220 have already been sold along with other assets for £62m, which Punch said was £4m ahead of book value. The pub company, which demerged from its managed pubs arm last year, would not give an update on crucial talks with bondholders, despite concerns that the latter may be forced to take a "haircut." Punch said it was considering a "broad range of options." Simon French, an analyst at Panmure Gordon, said the pub company's equity value would be highly dependent on the outcome of talks with bondholders. The group warned that trading in the third quarter would be up against some tough comparisons with the same period last year, when its pubs received a boost from the Royal wedding and "exceptional weather." However, it insisted that it had "strong plans" that would allow it to take advantage of the Diamond Jubilee, football's European Championships and the Olympics. Mr Whiteside said: "Notwithstanding the continuing challenging climate, we have a clear operational plan to return the core estate to growth in the medium term and extract maximum value from our non-core assets." Punch's shares fell 1 to 9.5p.