Whitbread In Strong Start To Year, Sees No Consumer Recovery

22nd Jun 2010 07:17

By Michael Carolan Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES LONDON (Dow Jones)--Hotel and restaurant chain Whitbread PLC (WTB.LN) reported a strong start to the year Tuesday and said it is strongly placed for a U.K. recovery, though it doesn't expect the consumer climate to get any easier this year. The operator of Premier Inn hotels and the Costa Coffee chain said that sales in the three months to June 3 grew 13.5%. Stripping out the opening of new outlets, sales in the U.K. were up 7.6%. "We are not planning on the consumer climate becoming any easier," said Chief Executive Alan Parker in a statement. "Whitbread has performed well in recession and is strongly placed for any recovery." Parker announced his retirement earlier this year and will be replaced by EasyJet PLC (EZJ.LN) CEO Andy Harrison on Sept. 1. First-quarter sales at Whitbread's largest business unit, budget hotel chain Premier Inn, grew 14.1%, with same-outlet sales up 10.5%. This compares with a rise of 1.7% in the previous three months and is strongly ahead of market expectations. The fortunes of Premier Inn, which contributes 70% of group profit, improved in the last quarter of last year as the company focused aggressively on value. Rooms at Premier Inn can cost as little as GBP29 a night. Sales at Costa Coffee grew 26.9%, with same-outlet sales up 8.5%. Costa's managing director John Derkach told Dow Jones Newswires last week that the coffee chain was enjoying a very good year with little sign of the recession. "In these times of austerity, our strategy of value for money hospitality brands in growing segments of the market has put us in a position of relative strength," the company said. -By Michael Carolan, Dow Jones Newswires; 44-20-7842-9278; [email protected] (END) Dow Jones Newswires June 22, 2010 02:17 ET (06:17 GMT)