Whitbread announces profit fall

Whitbread reported a 5.9% fall in pre-tax profits to £182.1m in the six months to 2 September.

During the same period last years the group's pre-tax profits stood at £193.5m. The company said the fall was due to further restructuring of the company. Its sales were down to £1.40b, from £1.44b in 1999.

In the hotels division, like-for-like sales increased by 9.8%, with the Marriott chain ahead by 10.2% and the Travel Inn chain up by 5.4%.

On a like-for-like basis, Marriott achieved occupancy of 77%, while achieved room rates increased by 8% to £81.47 and yield by 7% to £62.73. Travel Inn achieved average occupancy across the group of 87% and increased its operating profit to around £33m.

In the restaurant division, like-for-like sales increased by 2.2%.