14th Jan 2021 08:54
(Alliance News) - Whitbread PLC on Thursday said its third-quarter performance reflected the damage inflicted by the ongoing Covid-19 government restrictions in the UK and Germany, where it operates its hotels and restaurants.
The Dunstable, England-based hospitality firm said during the third quarter to November 26, total like-for-like sales growth were down 56% and year-to-date sales were down 70%.
Premier Inn UK total sales were down 55% in the third quarter. This reflects the ongoing UK government restrictions on the operation of hotels and restaurants, which have forced closures of non-essential businesses, Whitbread said. As a result, total UK accommodation sales were down 55%, with occupancy at 49%.
Occupancy levels in September were 58%, driven by a relatively strong demand. This continued into the first half of October, which saw occupancy levels of 52%, however the national lockdown in England saw November's occupancy levels fall to 35%.
Whitbread said with the increased restrictions, total UK accommodation sales were down 66% for the five weeks to December 31, with occupancy at 31%.
The company said Premier Inn UK's total accommodation sales performance was 8.9pp ahead of the midscale and economy market, with a total market share growth of 4.1pp to 11%.
Following the updated UK government restrictions announced earlier this month, Whitbread said around two-thirds of hotels remain open, while all restaurants are closed.
"We expect the current travel restrictions in the UK and Germany to remain until at the very least the end of our financial year. With the vaccination programme underway, we look forward to the potential gradual relaxation of restrictions from the Spring, business and leisure confidence returning, and our market recovering over the rest of the year," said Chief Executive Alison Brittain.
"We are well placed to continue to outperform the increasingly constrained budget branded and independent competitor sets, by leveraging the benefits of our unique operating model. We expect to see increasing opportunities to develop in both the UK and Germany and are pleased to have accelerated our growth in Germany with the recent acquisition of 13 hotels, taking the open and committed pipeline to 68 hotels, a major step on our path to achieving a nation-wide footprint with representation in most major towns and cities," Brittain added.
Whitbread said it has cash on deposit of GBP814.9 million, access to a GBP900.0 million undrawn revolving credit facility and up to GBP300.0 million available under the UK government's Covid Corporate Financing Facility scheme.
Shares in Whitbread were up 2.7% at 3,143.00 pence in London on Thursday.
By Zoe Wickens; [email protected]
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