JD Wetherspoon total sales grow 4.2pc YTD

(Sharecast News) - Pub chain JD Wetherspoon said on Wednesday that both like-for-like and total sales had grown in the first 14 weeks of the financial year as it outperformed the CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker for a 37th consecutive month.

Wetherspoons said like-for-like sales were 3.7% higher year-to-date than the same period a year earlier, with bar sales increasing by 5.7%, food up 0.9% and slot/fruit machines income growing by 8.9%. Hotel room sales, on the other hand, decreased by 6.3%.

The London-listed firm also stated total sales had grown by 4.2% year-to-date.

Wetherspoons also highlighted that it had again outperformed the CGA RSM Hospitality Business Tracker, which reports monthly LFL sales for a number of multi-outlet pub and restaurant companies. In September, the latest month for which information was available, the tracker reported industry sales growth of 0.2%, compared to 3.4% for Wetherspoons.

In the year-to-date, excluding franchises, the company has opened four pubs, while a further three franchised pubs have opened year-to-date. Wetherspoons estimates an additional 12 franchised openings in the current financial year.

Chairman Tim Martin said: "The company is pleased with the continued sales momentum but is mindful of the Chancellor's Budget statement later this month and, as a result, is slightly more cautious in its outlook for the remainder of the year."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com