Scots boost Greene King

1st Dec 2009 07:30

Pub group and brewer Greene King shrugged off the worst of the downturn over the last six months thanks to a strong performance from its Scottish arm Belhaven.Revenue to 18 October rose by 4.3% to £464.5m. Operating profit was 3.3% lower than last year at £103.3m, but underlying profits rose by 2.8% at £62.4m.Belhaven lifted revenues 14.6% to £72.2m with operating profit up 8.9% to £15.9m. Greene King Retail achieved sales of £278.2m in the period, 4.5% above last year on 1.1% less sites. Operating profit of £52.1m was down 0.4%. Like-for-like sales were strong with growth of 4.6%. teh breewing arm produced sales growth of 9.4% to £45.3m, while operating profit rose 5.4% to £9.7m.Most of the problems were in the tenated arm where revenue was down 8% at £68.8m, with operating profit down 13.7% to £30.9m."After 29 weeks to 22 November, retail like-for-like sales are up 4.7% and Belhaven Retail like-for-like sales are up 8.9%. The improved trends seen in Pub Partners in the first half have been maintained in the last 5 weeks. Own-brewed volume growth in Brewing Company continues to slow as expected but remains strong and well ahead of the market at plus 8.3%. Belhaven Best volumes are now up 14.6%," chief executive Rooney Anand said. Greene King's strong performance in Scotland has encouraged it to add to its portfolio there. It is acquiring seven pubs there from Mitchells and Butlers, the owner of the O' Neill's and All Bar One chain, for £12.7m.'Scotland is a key area of focus for Greene King and these high quality pubs will fit very well into the Belhaven estate,' said Anand.