Greene King froths up sales but says consumers still cautious

4th Dec 2014 07:52

Pub group and brewer Greene King announced half-year record sales and higher Christmas bookings, but warned that people's incomes were still under pressure.Greene King, which has made an agreed takeover bid for rival Spirit Pub Company, said total group revenue in the 24 weeks to 19 October rose 3.3% to £614.9m, although operating profit dropped 3.1% to £123.3m and pre-tax profit fell 3.5% to £82.6m.Profit before tax and exceptional items was down 3.5% to £82.6m due to lower like-for-like sales growth and the impact of the disposal of 275 pubs to Hawthorn Leisure.However, revenue in the underlying retained business after disposals of non-core pubs rose 5.3% to £613.1m, operating profit lifted 1.8% to £122.2m and pre-tax profit increased 3% to £81.6m.The group, which brews Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA and Abbot Ale and owns the Hungry Horse and Old English Inns pub chains, increased profits in its retail business, which has 1,040 pubs. It also said it had "maintained momentum" in the 864 tenanted, leased and franchised pubs in its Pub Partners division.Retail like-for-like sales rose 0.8%, Pub Partners like-for-like net income was 3.7% up and brewing & brands own-brewed volumes lifted 5.9%.The group said retail like-for-like sales after 30 weeks of the year were 0.8% up and 1.5% ahead in the last 12 weeks. Bookings for Christmas across retail were up 7.2%.Greene King said the consumer outlook was favourable, but volatile spending on eating and drinking out over the last few months had reflected consumer wariness.Chief executive Rooney Anand said: "With real incomes struggling to grow, customers remain cautious about spending on eating and drinking out. As a result, we will continue to tailor our customer-focused strategy to ensure we deliver another year of progress, long-term growth and strong returns."Shares fell 3.5p or 0.5% to 757p at 08:41 in London.