1st Nov 2005 14:30
Wetherspoon (JD) PLC01 November 2005 JD WETHERSPOON PLC Press Release1 November 2005 FIRST QUARTER TRADING UPDATE Current Trading Like-for-like sales decreased by 0.9% in the first quarter (13 weeks to 23October 2005). Total sales increased by 0.5% to £201.5m. As a result of costreductions highlighted in September, margins are higher than the subduedequivalent period a year ago. Licensing Reform Under new legislation covering England and Wales which comes into force on 24November 2005, the company has successfully obtained licensing consent to openvirtually all its pubs at 9am, 7 days a week, on a fully licensed basis. Webelieve that we are the only large pub company to open this early and themajority of sales at this time are expected to comprise breakfasts, coffees andother non-alcoholic drinks. The majority of our pubs will also open until 12 midnight on Sunday toThursday, and until 1am on Fridays and Saturdays. For most pubs, this is anextension of 1 hour on weekday evenings and 2 hours on weekend evenings, inaddition to the earlier opening referred to above. Hours may vary slightly bypub and will soon be prominently displayed on the outside of each of our pubs. There has been considerable concern expressed about binge drinking butWetherspoon has a good record of responsible behaviour in this area. At the lastlicense renewal under the old legislation, all our 650 pubs had their licensesconfirmed with no objections received from residents, the police or otherauthorities. Property We have opened 4 new pubs so far this financial year and expect the full yearsopenings to be in line with the 13 opened in the previous financial year. Wehave also completed the sale of 5 pubs previously identified for disposal. Further Progress The company continues to seek to upgrade every area of the business, and this isreflected in winning the "Loo of the Year " competition from the British ToiletAssociation for the third year in a row with the best pub loos in England (thePenderel's Oak, London), Wales (the Ernest Willows, Cardiff) and Scotland (theAlexander Bain, Wick). In the area of real ale, we have 109 pubs recommended in the 2006 Good BeerGuide, more than any other company. We have also been commended by thegovernment for our recycling and non-discriminatory recruitment policies. Non Smoking Pubs We currently have 47 non-smoking pubs. Like-for-like sales for this groupdeclined by 7.3% in the first quarter, reflecting the tough challenge ahead forpub companies when non-smoking legislation comes into effect. We have continuedto experience the trends reported at the time of our preliminary results inSeptember: food sales have increased but bar sales have shown sharp declines. As indicated at the time of our full year results, the company will review theperformance of non-smoking pubs, and our future plans in this area at the timeof our half year results in March, when trading patterns will be moreestablished. Outlook The first quarter produced a good trading performance. It is too early torevise our predictions for the full year given: the possible impact ofcontinuing cost pressures, trading of longer hours and the football world cup inthe final quarter of the current financial year. We expect to announce our interim results in the early part of March 2006. Enquiries: John Hutson, Chief Executive 01923 477777Jim Clarke, Finance Director 01923 477777Eddie Gershon, Company Spokesman 020 8352 5012/ 07956 392234 Visit our web site at www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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