· Over 2,000 new Premier Inn rooms opened in the UK in the first half and maturing well
· New Costa breakfast and lunch ranges successfully launched throughout the UK
· Premier Inn Germany accelerating new hotel pipeline – 1 open & 9 secured pipeline hotels
· Costa South China joint venture partner buy-out in October for £35 million enabling full control
· Efficiency programme gaining momentum with over £60 million delivered over last two years
Good financial performance in line with expectations and on track for the full year |
|||
|
|
H1 FY18 |
H1 FY17 |
Change |
|
Revenue |
£1,671m |
£1,556m |
7.4% |
|
Underlying operating profit1 |
£342m |
£320m |
7.1% |
|
Underlying profit before tax1 |
£328m |
£307m |
6.7% |
|
Statutory operating profit |
£336m |
£282m |
19.3% |
|
Statutory profit before tax |
£316m |
£264m |
19.9% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Underlying basic earnings per share1 |
143.7p |
133.9p |
7.4% |
|
Statutory basic earnings per share |
137.7p |
111.4p |
23.6% |
|
Interim dividend per share |
31.4p |
29.9p |
5.0% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Discretionary free cash flow2 |
£293m |
£269m |
9.3% |
|
Capital expenditure |
£269m |
£329m |
£60m |
|
Return on capital3 |
15.4% |
15.1% |
30bps |
· Strong revenue growth of 7.4% and market share gains in both Premier Inn4 and Costa
· Disciplined cost management enabling underlying profit growth of 6.7% to £328 million
· Premier Inn underlying operating profit growth to £295 million, Costa constant at £65 million
· Good discretionary free cash flow conversion of 86%, delivering £293 million to reinvest
· Strong balance sheet with net debt5 reduced to £852 million
· Return on capital increased 30 bps to 15.4%, despite scale of recent investment
Alison Brittain, Whitbread Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“I am pleased with the progress we have made in executing the plan we set out in November last year, with earnings per share up 7.4% in the half and return on capital of 15.4%. Our plan is based on growing in our core UK markets; focusing on structural growth opportunities for Premier Inn in Germany, Costa in China and Costa Express; and strengthening our capabilities and efficiency to deliver these attractive opportunities.