Strong preliminary figures for Greene King for the 52 weeks to 29 April 2012 show record results, good strategic progress and the expectation of delivery of sustainable growth.
Highlights
- Retail like-for-like sales growth of 4%; food sales growth of 17%.
- Retail operating profit growth of 13%; EBITDA per pub over £200k for first time.
- Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners up 4%; substantive agreements at 98%.
- Brewing & Brands total volumes up 8%; revenue up 5%.
- Strong growth of 10.0% in adjusted earnings per share.
- Strong margins and cash generation support total dividend growth of 7%.
- Current trading strong; Retail like-for-like sales up 7% in the last eight weeks.
Strategic progress
- Acquisition and integration of Capital Pub Company; Retail expansion strategy on track with a further 39 sites added to Greene King Retail; attractive pipeline of new sites.
- Over 300 sites in Pub Partners with improved customer offer and higher levels of control and influence; disposal programme on track to deliver estate of 1,200 sites by 2014.
- Upweighted ale brand investment in advertising and innovation; re-launch of Greene King IPA, launch of Old Golden Hen and Belhaven Black.
Rooney Anand, Greene King chief executive, commented:
“Our team has once again delivered record results and attractive returns to our shareholders in a difficult environment. We have achieved strong growth and made further strategic progress. All our businesses are building customer loyalty by delivering industry-leading value, service and quality as we strive to be Britain’s best pubs and beer business.
We are in the middle of an exciting summer for Britain, despite the unpredictable weather, with the Diamond Jubilee, Euro 2012 and with the Olympics still to come. However, looking further ahead, our customers’ spending will continue to be squeezed and concerns remain about job security. Our strategy is tailored for these difficult conditions as we focus on providing ‘everyday treats’ to our customers and delivering sustainable growth in earnings and dividends for our shareholders.”
Summary figures
52 Weeks | FY11 | FY12 | Change |
Total revenue | £1,042.7m | £1,140.4m | +9.4% |
Operating profit* | £222.0m | £236.2m | +6.4% |
Operating margin* | 21.3% | 20.7% | -0.6%pts |
Profit before tax* | £140.0m | £152.0m | +8.6% |
Statutory profit before tax | £116.8m | £125.1m | +7.1% |
Adjusted basic earnings per share* | 48.2p | 53.0p | +10.0% |
Dividend per share | 23.1p | 24.8p | +7.4% |
*before exceptional items
The Greene King business
- Greene King was founded in 1799 and is headquartered in Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk. It currently employs 22,000 people across its main trading divisions: Retail, Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands.
- It operates 2,334 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland, of which 954 are retail pubs, restaurants and hotels, and 1,380 are tenanted, leased and franchised pubs. Its leading retail brands are Hungry Horse, Old English Inns, Eating Inn and Loch Fyne Restaurants. 95% of the estate is either freehold or long leasehold.
- Greene King also brews quality ale brands from its Bury St. Edmunds and Dunbar breweries, and is the UK’s leading cask ale brewer and premium ale brewer. Its core ale brands are Greene King IPA, the no.1 cask ale in the UK, Old Speckled Hen, the no.1 premium ale in the UK, Abbot Ale, the no.1 premium cask ale in the UK and Belhaven Best, the no.1 ale brand in Scotland.