Premier Inn and Costa froth up Whitbread profit

22nd Jun 2010 07:17

Hotel and coffee shop chain Whitbread saw a 7.6% rise in like-for-like sales in the 13 weeks to 3 June as its low prices attracted customers during the uncertain economic conditions. Total sales were up 13.5% during the period.Premier Inn put in a strong performance with sales up 14.1% during the quarter and like for likes rising 10.5%. Like for like revenue per available room at the hotel chain was up 9.1%, as customers snapped up offers and cut-price weekend packages and as market conditions improved. At Costa total sales were up 26.9% while like for like rose by 8.5%. Whitbread said the '7 out of 10 coffee lovers prefer Costa' campaign 'has been totally exonerated' with the Advertising Standards Authority not upholding competitors' complaints.Costa's rival Starbucks complained about Costa ads which said that it tests showed that '7 out of 10 coffee lovers preferred Costa cappuccino to Starbucks"Whitbread has started the new financial year strongly, with continued momentum and good like for like sales," said chief executive Alan Parker. Pub Restaurants sales rose 3.6% like for like while total sales added 4.2%. Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table and Taybarns attracted a total of 5.2% more customers over the last three months, the group said.Costa said its strategy of offering value for money had put it in a position of relative strength.'We intend to further increase our market share by improving occupancy in our hotels and customer volumes in our restaurants and coffee shops,' it said. 'Our longer term expansion will continue at a pace appropriate to our competitive performance and growth in the market.'