JD Wetherspoon shares edged lower after the pub operator said it was on track for a “reasonable outcome” to the current year.
The firm reported a 10.3% hike in sales in the 10 weeks to July 6 up 4.9% on a like-for-like basis which strips out new pub openings and closures with total sales ahead 9.8% in the year to date.
The company,which added Jolly’s Hotel to its Scottish estate in April following a £2.23m transformation of the mothballed hotel, said margins had been maintained at around 8.1% but sales had been slightly slower during the World Cup.
The firm also warned it expected margins to be squeezed in the coming financial year to between 7.7% and 8.1%.
Wetherspoon’s said it had opened 40 new pubs and closed five so far this year, and planned to add between 30 and 40 more to its portfolio in the year ahead.
It used the opportunity presented by yesterday’s pre-close statement to again attack the “tax inequality between pubs and supermarkets”, and said it would cut weekend opening times at outlets where a late-night levy was introduced by the local authority.
