13th Oct 2026 13:37
(Alliance News) - Marston's PLC on Tuesday said it expects to report full-year profit to exceed market guidance, and to announce a shareholder returns programme.
In response, Marston's shares were 19% higher at 55.20 pence each on Tuesday afternoon in London.
For the year ended September 26, the Wolverhampton, England-based pub operator expects underlying pretax profit to be above the top end of market expectations. It cited market consensus of GBP78.4 million, within a range of GBP76.1 million to GBP83.2 million.
Marston's added that profit is currently "more than three times" the GBP25.6 million from continuing operations it reported for 2023.
It said its full-year underlying earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation margin was around 100 basis points higher than in financial 2025, "supported by our market-leading pub operating model and disciplined cost control." Financial 2026 was also "another year of strong delivery of recurring free cash flow".
It also said like-for-like sales were broadly flat in the fourth quarter, thanks to "new pub formats, stronger summer trading and an excellent World Cup," while full-year LFL sales fell 1.2%.
"We have delivered a third consecutive year of significant profit growth, margin improvements and strong recurring free cash flow," Chief Executive Officer Justin Platt commented. "Our differentiated pub formats continue to drive excellent returns, and our guest satisfaction scores show that we continue to delight our customers – a credit to our talented, hard-working teams.
"Our progress over the last three years shows the momentum we have as a high-margin, highly cash-generative local pub company, with profits substantially up and debt levels halved. With clear strategic priorities and our new format conversion programme expanding to at least 100 pubs next year, we enter the new year well set to drive our next phase of growth."
Marston's also said it intends to announce a programme of shareholder returns alongside its preliminary full-year results, which it intends to publish on November 24. It expects this "to be in the form of share buybacks."
By Emma Curzon, Alliance News reporter
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