Investors full of beans on Oliver's quarterly results; shares up 20pc

Shares in healthy fast food chain Oliver’s Real Food — which wants you to stop eating Macca’s on road trips — are on a tear right now.

The retail chain, which targets key arterial roads and rest stops to sell its range of pita pockets and steamed green beans, banked $10.5 million cash in the December quarter, up 36 per cent on the previous period.

That left $1.8 million in positive operating cashflow after costs — compared to just $5000 last quarter.

The results had investors excited. The shares (ASX:OLI) jumped 20 per cent to 27.5c in Wednesday morning trade – heights not seen since their earnings downgrade in July.

Oliver's shares are on the recovery path after a downgrade last year. — Oliver’s shares are on the recovery path after a downgrade last year.

At the time they forecast sales revenue loss because of supply chain divisions, store opening delays and inventory adjustments.

But now Oliver’s say they are back on track and beating the goals set out in its prospectus from June — namely the key deliverables of $41,909 million revenue and $2.367 million net profit.

“Group gross margin was 75.6 per cent, which is ahead of the prospectus forecast due to better results from the implantation of supply chain initiatives, retail price increases and improved store management,” Oliver’s told the market.

In the last quarter the group opened three stores, taking the total to 26.

At the end of the quarter there was $2.2 million left in the bank, with $9.6 million in estimated outflows for the current period.