Highlights include:
· Period of significant acquisition activity with investment in 13 new freehold pubs
· Turnover for the period increased by 7.4% to £79.2m (2015: £73.7m)
· Underlying operating profit1 grew by 6.5% to £7.6m (2015: £7.2m)
· Strong trading performance in all areas of the business
– Managed estate like-for-like sales up 5.3% (2015: +6.5%), food up 3.3% and accommodation up 9.6%
– Tenanted like-for-like EBITDAR2 grew by 1.7% (2015: +2.7%) and average EBITDAR per pub was up 4.9% (2015: +7.2%)
– Total own beer volumes excluding contract up 2.2%
· Statutory profit before tax is £6.7m (2015: £8.7m), as profit on disposal of properties returned to more normal levels after the one-off sale of land in 2015
· Underlying basic earnings per share3 up 12.4% to 30.0p (2015: 26.7p)
· Interim dividend increased to 5.62p (2015: 5.45p) per share
· Net assets per share4 increased to £12.69 (2015: £12.36)
Jonathan Neame, Chief Executive, commented:
“I am delighted to report a strong performance and a period of significant acquisition activity. Our pub business has been driven by good like-for-like sales growth. It is also encouraging to note solid growth in own brand beer volume. We retain a cautious outlook as we are likely to be entering a period of increased cost inflation. However, I am confident that we have the right strategy and skills to deliver value for our shareholders for the long term.”