Young & Co's Brewery – Half-year Report

YOUNG & CO.'S BREWERY, P.L.C.

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE 26 WEEKS ENDED 30 SEPTEMBER 2019

All of the results above are from continuing operations.

⁽¹⁾   The 2019 results have been reported under IFRS 16. The 2018 comparatives have not been restated, as permitted by the accounting standard. The 2019 pre-IFRS 16 results, which are for comparative purposes only, have been presented on a non-statutory illustrative basis excluding the impact of IFRS 16.

⁽²⁾   Reference to an “adjusted” item means that item has been adjusted to exclude non-underlying costs of £2.3 million (2018: non-underlying gains of £0.3 million) (see note 3).

⁽³⁾   Net debt to EBITDA has been calculated based on the last 12 months' actual EBITDA, including the expected impact of IFRS 16 on 12 months of trading, based on the lease portfolio as at the date of transition.

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

• Total revenue up 7.3% to £168.2 million, along with a 7.2% increase in adjusted pre-IFRS 16 EBITDA to a half-year high of £43.3 million
• Like-for-like sales growth of 1.1% in our premium, well-invested managed pub estate reflecting the challenging prior comparatives from the hottest English summer on record and England's FIFA World Cup performance
• Total adjusted pre-IFRS 16 operating profit up 5.2% to £30.1 million, with adjusted pre-IFRS 16 profit before tax also up, by 3.4% to £27.0 million
• Investment of £17.3 million during the period, including the freehold acquisition of the White Bear (Tunbridge Wells)
• The Redcomb pubs have been successfully integrated into the existing Young's estate and, after a build-up period, are performing in line with expectations
• Healthy cash generation reduced the year-end net debt position by £8.6 million to £155.0 million (pre-IFRS 16) – strong balance sheet with financial capacity for further investment
• 23^rd consecutive year-on-year interim dividend increase, with a 6.0% rise to 10.57 pence per share
• Strong trading in the last thirteen weeks, with managed house revenue up 12.4% and up 5.1% on a like-for-like basis

 Patrick Dardis, Chief Executive of Young's, commented:

“I am very pleased with the performance of our business during the first half of the year. In what was a challenging period up against tough comparatives, we continued to grow profits, make acquisitions, invest organically and increase the dividend: a reflection of the consistent execution of our strategy and the hard work of our teams throughout those six months. 

The start of the half year was challenging as the poor and unpredictable weather was a far cry from last year's exceptional early summer sunshine. However, the summer Bank Holiday temperatures and late-September sunshine contributed to strong like-for-like sales growth in the second 13 weeks which helped to balance the first half, with like-for-like sales finishing up 1.1%.

We have added the White Bear, a freehold pub in Tunbridge Wells, into our managed house estate and continue to seek out the right opportunities in exciting new locations where we believe our premium offer will flourish.

Although the upcoming general election prolongs the unpredictability of the political environment, it does not change our approach or confidence in our winning strategy of running high-quality, well-invested premium pubs.

Our expectations for the full year remain unchanged and we remain confident in our ability to deliver long-term growth and sustainable superior investor returns.”