Good trading over Easter for Marston's

19th May 2011 07:05

Food sales continue to drive growth at brewing and pubs group Marston's, though drinkers are putting their hands in their pockets more often, too.Revenue in the 26 weeks to April 2nd rose to £317.9m from £309.2m at the interim stage last year. Marston's Inns and Taverns, the group's managed pub estate, grew revenue by 3.6% to £181.7m, with a strong contribution from newly built pubs. Like-for-like (LFL) sales were up 2.4%, with LFL food sales up 4.7% while "wet" (beverage) sales were up 1.5% on a LFL basis.Marston's Pub Company, the tenanted and leased pub estate, grew revenue by 4.5% to £85.9m. Average profit per pub increased by 1.5%.On the brewing side, Marston's Beer Company saw a 2.5% dip in revenue to £50.3m, reflecting the later timing of Easter this year and the decline in popularity of lager. Profit before tax and exceptional items advanced to £29.2m from £27.8m the year before, bang in line with a forecast from broker Panmure Gordon. With exceptional items included, pre-tax profit jumped to £35.6m from £26.3m.Basic earnings per share, excluding exceptional items, climbed to 4.1p from 3.8p. The interim dividend has been maintained at 2.1p. Since the end of the reporting period LFL sales are up 5.0% on last year, reflecting, in part, the inclusion of the Easter period this time round. Tenanted and leased LFL profits are estimated to be up 0.4%, while own-brewed volumes of beer are 4% ahead of the corresponding period last year."The performance of the group in the first half year has been encouraging, despite challenging market conditions and the severe weather in December, and this has continued with good trading over the Easter period," said Marston's chief executive, Ralph Findlay. "Our focused and disciplined strategy, offering consumers value for money in well-invested pubs, together with sector-leading shares in the growth segments of the beer market, places us in a strong position for the future," Findlay added.---jh