16th May 2018 08:34
LONDON (Alliance News) - FTSE 250-listed pub operator Marston's PLC said on Wednesday it swung to a loss in the first half of its financial year, despite double-digit growth in revenue, with the GBP55 million acquisition of Charles Wells Brewing & Beer Business in May 2017.
Pretax loss for the six months to the end of March was GBP13.4 million, sinking from a profit of GBP36.7 million for the same period the year before, due to accounting adjustments relating to the estate valuation and changes in the fair value of interest rate swaps, leading to exceptional items totalling GBP49.7 million for the period.
On an underlying basis, pretax profit rose by 7.7% to GBP36.3 million from GBP33.7 million, particularly through a strong performance from the Brewing and Taverns segment.
Revenue grew by 20% to GBP529.0 million from GBP451.5 million the prior year, due to growth across all of its segments driven by the Charles Wells Beer Business acquisition, new openings and pub acquisitions.
Marston's said it will maintain its interim dividend at 2.7 pence per share.
In addition, the pub chain said it expects to see growth in pretax profit and revenue for the full financial year, through its drinks-led businesses and the upcoming World Cup. In addition, Marston's is in the process of combining its Taverns and Leased operational teams, merging the two segments for the full-year.
"We are pleased to report another period of good growth in revenue and underlying profit before tax. Strong trading in Brewing and Taverns and Leased pubs offsets the adverse impact of poor weather on 'drive-to' pubs in our Destination estate, further validating the resilience of our model. We have made modest and prudent adjustments to our capital plans to reflect the current economic and consumer climate," said Chief Executive Officer Ralph Findlay.
"However, Marston's is a balanced business and we are confident that the medium-term outlook for the eating-out and wet-led pub sectors remains good and that targeting an increased profitable share of a growing market through an unremitting focus on quality, service, standards and value for money remains key," Findlay added.
Shares in Marston's were down 5.2% at 106.20 pence on Wednesday.
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