Shepherd Neame
Interim results for the 26 weeks to 23 December 2023
Shepherd Neame, Britain’s Oldest Brewer and owner and operator of 296 high quality pubs in Kent and the Southeast, today announces results for the 26 weeks ended 23 December 2023.
In a period of robust demand, the Company has performed well achieving strong like-for-like sales growth, record H1[1] revenues and an increase in underlying profits despite continued inflationary pressures across the business.
Consumer demand remained good, record revenue, improved underlying profit
· Revenue for the half year grew by +4.3% to a record £89.0m (H1 2023: £85.3m)
· Underlying EBITDA[2] grew by +5.2% to £12.0m (H1 2023: £11.4m)
· Underlying operating profit grew by +8.0% to £6.8m (H1 2023: £6.3m)
· Underlying profit before tax[3] grew by +9.9% to £3.8m (H1 2023: £3.5m)
· Statutory profit before tax was £1.1m (H1 2023: £5.5m)
· £6.6m invested in core capital expenditure (H1 2023: £4.0m)
· Underlying basic earnings per share[4] were 18.3p (H1 2023: 18.7p). The benefit of the increase in underlying profit has been offset by the higher rate of tax. Basic earnings per share were 4.4p (H1 2023: 28.9p)
· Net assets per share[5] were £11.92 (H1 2023: £12.12)
· Interim dividend of 4.2p (H1 2023: 4.0p), an increase of +5.0%
Operational performance
| PerformanceH1 2024 vs H1 2023 | |
| Retail like-for-like sales[6] | +6.2% |
| Like-for-like tenanted pub income[7] | +5.1% |
| Total beer volume[8] | -10.5% |
| Own beer volume[9] | -16.7% |
Operational highlights
· Total retail sales up +12.3% to £41.4m (H1 2023: £36.9m), boosted by a strong Christmas
· For the adjusted Christmas period, from 1 to 31 December 2023, like-for-like retail sales were up +14.9% vs 2022
· Retail like-for-like drink sales up +8.9% vs H1 2023
· Retail like-for-like food sales up +3.7% vs H1 2023
· Total occupancy was down at 73.4% (H1 2023: 81.6%) but RevPAR held up well at £86 (H1 2023: £90)
· Tenanted trade was resilient and continues to perform well
· Divisional revenue was £17.7m (H1 2023: £17.4m) and operating profit was £6.6m (H1 2023: £6.9m)
· Beer volumes are down as cask ale and bottled ales decline, but strong performance in independent on-trade
· Divisional revenue was £29.2m (H1 2023: £30.3m), with an operating profit of £0.2m (H1 2023: loss of £0.4m)
· New logistics contract for warehousing and distribution as we invest in service and heartland
Current trading and outlook
| Performance versus 2023[10] | |
| 9 weeks to 24 February LFL tenanted pub income7 | +3.3% |
| 12 weeks to 16 March retail LFL sales6 | +4.9% |
| 12 weeks to 16 March total beer volumes8 | -11.8% |
| 12 weeks to 16 March own beer volumes9 | -16.9% |
Jonathan Neame, CEO of Shepherd Neame, said:
“Consumer demand has remained robust, with exceptional trade over the Christmas period. It has been a particularly strong period for our London pubs as people continue to return to their offices.
Whilst the inflation outlook is improving overall, we do face new inflationary challenges such as the further rise to the National Living Wage.
We are encouraged by the performance of our recent retail developments and have a good pipeline of schemes to deliver to further improve the premium quality of the estate.
We have a strong balance sheet, a well-balanced, cash generative business and a fantastic team of dedicated talent that give us confidence in our long-term prospects.”
20 March 2024
| ENQUIRIES | |
| Shepherd Neame | Tel: 01795 532206 |
| Jonathan Neame, Chief Executive | |
| Mark Rider, Chief Financial Officer | |
| Instinctif Partners | Tel: 020 7457 2020 |
| Matthew Smallwood | Tel: 020 7457 2005 |
| Justine Warren | Tel: 020 7457 2010 |