Marston's bullish after tough year

3rd Dec 2009 07:24

Pub group and brewer Marston's posted a sharp fall in profits in the year to 3 October, but these were ahead of previous expectations and the company said the improving trend of the second half has continued in recent weeks.The company, which has about 2,200 pubs across England and Wales, said pre-tax profits before exceptional items fell to £70.3m from £85.1m over the same period the previous year as revenues dropped to £645.1m from £666.1m.Marston's, which owns the Pitcher & Piano chain, said in June that pre-tax profits for the year were expected to be no less than £69m.While Marston's was hit hard by the consumer downturn, it said actions taken to adapt to changing trends in the pub sector, such as increased dining out in pubs, helped it weather the worst of the weak economic conditions. At pubs which are managed by the company itself, like-for-like sales fell by 0.6% from the previous year, but were up by 2.7% in the last nine weeks of the year. Like-for-like food sales were up 2.8% over the whole year and by 4.4% over the last nine weeks.Pubs that are leased to landlords outperformed the market and have seen trading improve recently, the company said, while the brewing division has increased market share, revenue and profits.'This was a creditable performance in a very challenging period,' said chief executive Ralph Findlay.Marston's completed a rights issue to raise £165.6m in July and intends to buy 60, large, newly built, food oriented pubs over the next three years. 'The outlook for the UK economy remains uncertain,' said Marston's 'Whilst we are still cautious, immediate cost inflation pressures have eased and we are well positioned to meet the forthcoming challenges.'