Food keeps Greene King moving forward

7th Sep 2010 07:08

Good sales of food through its managed outlets are keeping pub operator and brewer Greene King on track. After 18 weeks to 5 September, like-for-like sales at Greene King Retail were up by 4.4% and sales at Scottish arm Belhaven 3.3% ahead. Food sales at the managed businesses were especially strong, with growth of 8.6% like-for-like and margins also better than this time last year. Tenanted and leased pubs had a tougher time with average underlying earnings up by 0.7% in the Pub Partners division after 16 weeks. Brewing volumes were down sharply on last year though better than the market, which fell by 8%. Greene King-brewed ales fell by 4.6%, but total volumes rose by 0.3% with Belhaven Best volumes up 3.0%."The economic and consumer environment remains uncertain as a number of significant headwinds, including public sector cuts, benefits reform and the impending VAT rise, are likely to affect future household spending," Greene King said, though it still expects to expand its retail business and have a successful year.