29th Apr 2008 07:00
Wetherspoon (JD) PLC28 April 2008 JD WETHERSPOON PLC 29th April 2008 THIRD QUARTER TRADING UPDATE JD Wetherspoon plc ("JD Wetherspoon" or the "Company") announces its secondInterim Management Statement, as required by the FSA's Disclosure andTransparency Rules, relating to the third quarter, covering the thirteen weeksending 27th April 2008. Current Trading For the 13 weeks to 27th April 2008, like-for-like sales decreased by 0.1% witha slow February followed by an improvement in March and April. Sales in thequarter were helped by a successful beer festival in April and by increasedmarketing investment, following slow sales in the second quarter. In theyear-to-date (39 weeks to 27th April 2008), like-for-like sales decreased by1.5% and overall Company sales increased by 1.5%. Traditional ale sales have been in decline in the pub market for many years, butwe have recently experienced a recovery in our pubs. At our recent real alefestival we sold the equivalent of approximately 2.5m pints, an increase of over7% on a like-for-like basis. Wine sales continue to improve, and premium bottledbeers and spirits are also showing positive trends. We continued to see growthin coffee and tea sales during the period and have upgraded our food offer byre-launching our curry and steak "club" nights with great success. We reported on 7th March 2008 that operating margins declined to 10.1% in thefirst half of the financial year, compared to 10.6% in the first 6 months oflast year. We anticipate continuing pressure on the operating margin in thesecond half, as a result of higher marketing, food, and labour costs. Property The financial year so far has seen the opening of 19 new pubs. 23 new sites areexpected to open this financial year, with approximately 30 in the nextfinancial year. Other In order to resolve a technical breach regarding distributable reserves due tonot filing interim accounts at Companies House, the Company will post a shortcircular to its shareholders imminently and hold an Extraordinary GeneralMeeting on 3rd June 2008. Financial position The Company remains in a sound financial position. Outlook The pattern reported in the first half continued, with food sales in the periodgrowing strongly but with bar sales remaining slightly down. The combination ofbetter than expected sales and higher than expected costs has led to asatisfactory outcome for the period. However, the market for bar sales remainschallenging and the Company continues to be cautious in the short term, in linewith the comments in our interim results. We still remain confident of our longterm prospects. Enquiries: John Hutson Chief Executive 01923 477777Keith Down Finance Director 01923 477777Eddie Gershon Company Spokesman 0208 352 5012 / 07956 392234 Notes to editors 1. JD Wetherspoon owns and operates pubs throughout the UK. The Company aims toprovide customers with good-quality food and drink, served by well-trained andfriendly staff, at reasonable prices. The pubs are individually designed and theCompany aims to maintain them in excellent condition. 2. Visit our website at www.jdwetherspoon.co.uk. 3. This announcement has been prepared solely to provide additional informationto the shareholders of JD Wetherspoon, in order to meet the requirements of theUK Listing Authority's Disclosure and Transparency Rules. It should not berelied on by any other party, for other purposes. Forward-looking statementshave been made by the directors in good faith using information available upuntil the date that they approved this statement. Forward-looking statementsshould be regarded with caution because of the inherent uncertainties ineconomic trends and business risks. 4. The next trading update will be the Company's pre-close statement, to beissued on 16 July 2008. This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock ExchangeRelated Shares:
Wetherspoon (J.D)