4th Sep 2007 07:00
Greene King PLC04 September 2007 PRESS RELEASE 4 September 2007 GREENE KING plc INTERIM MANAGEMENT STATEMENT Greene King plc announces its maiden interim management statement for the 17weeks to August 26th, which will be delivered at the Annual General Meetingtoday. Greene King is pleased to confirm that its profit expectations for the full yearremain unchanged, despite the recent unseasonal weather. Implementation of the English smoking ban, which came into effect on July 1st,has, to date, been successful. Greene King remains very well placed to meet thechallenges, and to capitalize on the opportunities, presented by the ban. LFL sales across the two managed pub divisions were slightly ahead of last year,and they were up 2% on an underlying basis, after excluding the impact of thelast year's World Cup. In Pub Partners, the tenancy and lease division, total LFL sales growth was 1%in the period, maintaining the steady growth seen last year, despite thedifficult trading conditions. Greene King's beer brands continue to outperform the UK beer market with BrewingCompany own-brewed volumes, including Hardys & Hansons, up 10% in the period,led by double digit growth in Old Speckled Hen and Abbot Ale. In Scotland, the Belhaven business is on track to meet expectations for theyear. Belhaven Best continues to grow strongly with volumes up 9% since thestart of the financial year. On August 7th, Greene King completed the acquisition of Loch Fyne Restaurants,providing the company with greater access to the growing premium casual diningsector. Integration of the business has begun and since the acquisition, LochFyne has successfully opened in Edinburgh, taking the total number ofrestaurants to 37. Since the beginning of the financial year, Greene King has bought back 12.4mshares for a total value of £125m, at an average price of 1007p per share. Todate, the company's cashflow performance and balance sheet position remainhealthy and in line with its forecasts. For further information:Greene King plc Rooney Anand, Chief Executive Tel: 01284 763222 Ian Bull, Group Finance Director Financial Dynamics Ben Foster Tel: 07776 240 806 Charlie Watenphul Tel: 0207 831 3113 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
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