No buyers found for Mad Butcher sites

Veritas says the butchery chain continues to face a 'challenging' environment. Photo / Richard Robinson

Veritas Investments says it has had no success selling Mad Butcher outlets currently for sale and that the cut-price meat chain continues to face a "challenging" environment.

However, it remains on track to meet profit guidance issued in June, in which it said annual profitability was expected to rise 28 per cent in the 2016 financial year - equivalent to its earlier expectation of results for the 2015 financial year. The company said then that it expected net profit of between $5.3 million and $5.5 million in the year ending June 30, 2016, up from the $4.3 million anticipated in 2015.

In an update to the NZX on first quarter trading in the 2016 financial year, chairman Tim Cook said Veritas was "exploring options" for its subsidiary Kiwi Pacific Foods, a supplier of beef patties for major client Burger King, through a joint venture with a subsidiary of Antares Restaurant Group.

Antares this year sought to terminate its contract with Kiwi Pacific, a decision that Kiwi Pacific challenged and lost at arbitration and is now seeking to appeal, with the supply agreement scheduled to end in April next year.

Veritas said its Better Bar company, which owns bars in Auckland and Hamilton, was trading to expectations in Auckland but "the Hamilton bars continue to underperform and the board are proactively working on a number of potential solutions to produce a positive outcome".

Nosh stores "remain on track to be profitable in the next quarter".

Veritas was now seeking to appoint a chief executive and had made an interim appointment of John Hames as chief financial officer.

Veritas shares were unchanged at 43 cents.