Greene King sees like-for-like sales rise 1.5%
Greene King has reported that like-for-like sales up 1.5% thanks to strong Christmas trading and growth in its restaurant brands.
Revenue in the 52 weeks to 30 April 2017 was up 6.9% at £2.2b, with operating profit before exceptional items up 4.9% to £411.5m.
Pub company sales growth was 7.7%, while operating profit grew 3% to £308m. Some 11 new pubs were opened in the period, with 65 disposals completed.
In its pub partners division revenue was up 5.8% to £198.8m, with average EBITDA per pub up 7.9%. Greene King said this reflected improvements in estate quality as a result of the Spirit acquisition and the disposal of 54 pubs from the combined estate.
Chief executive Rooney Anand said: "Greene King has delivered another set of record results, generating full year EBITDA of over £500m for the first time. The team has worked hard to maintain momentum during the period and successfully completed the integration of Spirit a year ahead of schedule. This has led to a stronger, more competitive business with an industry-leading portfolio of brands.
"Our performance has been achieved against a demanding backdrop of increased costs, weaker consumer confidence and increasing competition. While I expect these challenges to intensify over the next few years, Greene King has a very strong track record of delivery in tough market conditions.
"Using the scale that the Spirit acquisition has brought, we will continue towards our aim of being the best pub company in Britain. We will achieve this goal by ensuring we have the best brands, the best invested estate and the best people in the industry. We will target further market outperformance, in a growing market, supported by additional cost efficiencies, a robust balance sheet and strong cash generation to deliver long-term growth and attractive returns for our shareholders."
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