6th Nov 2013 08:18
LONDON (Alliance News) - Pub chain JD Wetherspoon PLC Wednesday said that total sales were up 7.6% in the first quarter of its new financial year, and said it remains confident of a reasonable trading outcome for the year, despite tax and cost pressure.
The UK-based pub owner and operator, which sells both food and drink, said that like-for-like sales rose 3.7% in the 13 weeks to October 27, despite what it said was an increasingly unfair UK tax burden on pubs and restaurants compared to supermarkets.
"As previously indicated, the biggest danger to the pub industry is the VAT disparity between supermarkets and pubs," said Chief Executive John Hutson in a statement.
JD Wetherspoon reported a slightly lower operating margin for the period, down 0.3 percentage point to 8.3%, largely due to increased labour and marketing costs, repairs, and central overheads. However, the company said that it expects these expenditures to pay-off in the future, boosting the trading performance of the business.
JD Wetherspoon said it opened eight new pubs in the quarter, and has 12 more under development. It said it expects to open 40 to 50 pubs in total this year, slightly more than previously expected, due to an increased banking facility and a number of recent acquisitions.
The company said that there have been no significant changes in its overall financial position.
At the open, JD Wetherspoon shares were up 4.00 pence to 716.50p per share.
By Rowena Harris-Doughty; [email protected]; @rharrisdoughty
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