Charles Wells pub company posts drop in sales and profit
Pub company and brewer Charles Wells, owner of Wells & Young's, has posted a drop in sales of 3.5% in the year ending September 2013.
The group, which runs over 200 pubs in the UK, also reported a drop in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) to £13.9m.
It put the fluctuating figures down to its sale of Kestrel Super Strength lager brand. In the period 18 pub sites were also sold.
Group sales income fell by £7.9m to £181.6m, largely thanks to the performance of brewing arm Wells & Young's, which fell £8m to £161.9m due to the Kestrel disposal. Similarly, the group-adjusted EBITDA of £13.9m was down from £17.4m in the previous year. However, EBITDA per pub was up 3.4%.
The overall drop was attributed mainly to the company's sale of Kestrel Super Strength lager, which had contributed £8.7m of sales in the past year and was sold on 2 October 2012 to Brookfield Drinks, run by a former company director Nigel McNally.
Net profit at Charles Wells-owned John Bull Pub Company, which operates English pubs throghout France, was up 13.5% on last year. It also added another site to its portfolio, bringing the total to nine (with seven more planned by 2016).
The company also invested over £3m in its existing estate, and although it had not acquired any more pubs in the 12 months, it had sold 18 unviable sites in the same timeframe, with a profit of £1m.
In its report, the company stated: "From a pub and brewing perspective, austerity measures continue and consumers are still holding back. This will undoubtedly have some impact in 2014."
It also said that it was planning a significant restructuring at the brewery, "which should see bottom line results in line with 2013".
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