The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Mixed fortunes for rival pub groups
Shares in Belhaven owner Greene King moved lower yesterday after it revealed a fall in half-year profits and sliding sales.
The group – which operates more than a dozen pubs in Tayside and Fife including The Post Office Bar in Broughty Ferry – said half-year results were hit as pub-goers tightened their belts and rivals slashed their prices.
It saw underlying pre-tax profits fall 8% to £127.9 million for the six months to October 15, while like-for-like sales in its managed estate dropped by 1.4%.
CEO Rooney Anand said managed pub trading had improved after a £10m action plan.
He said: “The first half was challenging for our managed pubs, but our actions to strengthen performance have produced an improvement since the period end.”
However, Greene King cautioned over falling consumer confidence, cost pressures from national living wage increases and intense competition.
It said: “While we have already initiated a number of activities to improve our competitiveness, particularly in the eating out market, we believe that market conditions are likely to toughen over the next two to three years.”
It is now working on “more detailed” plans to offset the difficult market and continue to benefit from its takeover of Spirit Pub Company for £774m in 2015.
Meanwhile, rival Marston’s has booked a 24% rise in full-year profits, shrugging off higher costs and cheering growth prospects despite “political and economic uncertainty”.
The group – whose properties include the Dunnichen Stone at Forfar and Sweet Chestnut at Dunfermline – saw pre-tax profits jump to £100.3m in the year to September 30, up from £80.8m in 2016.
This was alongside an 8% jump in statutory revenues to £1 billion.
Chief executive Ralph Findlay cheered the company’s “strong revenue growth and higher earnings” which he said were delivered “despite increasing employment and property costs”.
He added the business has been “transformed” thanks to “significant improvements” in the quality of its pub and beer business, and was likely to see further growth over the coming year.