Greene King PLC (LON:GNK), today announced interim results for the 24 weeks to 14 October 2018.
|
Group revenue |
Adjusted profit before tax1,2 |
Statutory profit before tax |
Adjusted earnings per share1,2 |
Dividend per share3 |
Net debt: EBITDA1,2 |
Return on capital employed2 |
|
£1,051.2m |
£128.2m |
£127.7m |
33.1p |
8.8p |
4.2x |
8.5% |
|
+1.9% |
+0.2% |
+3.2% |
+0.3% |
Flat |
Flat |
-0.5%pts |
HIGHLIGHTS2
Continued LFL sales momentum in Pub Company
· Pub Company like-for-like (LFL) sales up 2.7%, ahead of the market4 up 1.1%
· Driven by the ongoing benefits from our investment in value, service and quality (VSQ), our strategic focus on four core brands, and boosted by good weather and the World Cup
· Pub Partners LFL net income up; Brewing & Brands revenue up 7.5%
Consistent cash generation, disciplined capital allocation & attractive property valuation
· Operating cash generated5 covers scheduled debt repayment, core capex and dividends
· Further steps taken to refinance Spirit debenture, reducing cost and increasing flexibility of our debt; to date annualised cash interest saving c.£13m and net present value benefit c.£45m
· Interim dividend maintained at 8.8p per share; dividend cover5 of 1.9x
· Estate optimisation; tail disposal proceeds fund new builds, helping to grow average weekly take in Pub Company by 7.9% over the last three years
· Pub estate valuation supports maintained leverage; market value of £4.5bn
Current trading and outlook
· LFL sales in Pub Company were up 2.9% at week 30; Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands performing in line with expectations
· Christmas bookings well ahead of last year
· Remain on track to limit full year net cost inflation to £10-20m
Rooney Anand, Green King chief executive officer commented:
“We have seen continued positive momentum in Pub Company, which was sustained beyond the boost of the World Cup and the summer weather. The hard work of our teams, combined with the investments we made to improve our customer experience, is driving sales outperformance to the market. We remain highly cash generative, meeting our debt repayment requirements, investing in our pubs and paying an attractive, sustainable dividend out of operating free cashflow. Good progress was made refinancing the Spirit debenture, which will reduce the cost of our debt and increase the strength and flexibility of our balance sheet.
“Looking forward, Christmas bookings are up on last year and we look forward to ensuring customers have a great time celebrating the festive season in our pubs. Ongoing uncertainty around Brexit may impact on consumer confidence, but as a team we are focused on our key strategic priorities and remain confident of our outlook for the financial year.”
