Greene King profit tops own forecast

2nd Jul 2009 07:21

Brewing and pub group Greene King has reported profits that beat forecasts it made at the time of its rights issue in April that raised over £200m for the group. Profit before tax and exceptional items for the 52 weeks ended 3 May fell 15% from the previous year to £118.5m, but that was ahead of the £115m predicted. A write-down of £53.5m sent pre-tax profit down 63% to £54.3m on revenue up 1.3% to £954.6m, while retail like for like sales improved by 1.7%. The recent warm weather has helped business. Like-for-like sales in Greene King's managed pubs are up 5.2% in the first eight weeks of the new year to 28 June, and up 10.2% at its Belhaven pubs in Scotland."Trading generally improved from December, although cost pressures remain and both economic and political uncertainty are affecting consumer confidence," said chief executive Rooney Anand. "We look forward with cautious optimism and believe we have the best assets, brands and people to continue growing our share of the market."The company also impressed with a final dividend of 15.1p a share. Many rivals have been forced to axe payouts.