Whitbread delivers upbeat trading message

Whitbread delighted the City this morning with an upbeat update on trading.

Shares in the leisure group rose after it said all its businesses - hotels, pub restaurants and coffee shops - had "demonstrated further positive momentum with like-for-like sales growth".

Whitbread said its pub restaurant division had seen turnover up 1.3 per cent in the fourth quarter, despite a sluggish start in early January due to the bad weather.

For the 51 weeks to February 18, 2010, like-for-like sales were up 1.8 per cent. Total covers rose 5.1 per cent, with a total sales figure up 5.2 per cent including five new pubs opened during the year.

Whitbread's Premier Inn hotel business reported a like-for-like increase in the fourth quarter of 1.7 per cent, while like-for-like turnover for the year to date was down 4.6 per cent, although the group argued it had shown continued outperformance against its competitors.

The consumer's love affair with coffee appeared to be as strong as ever, with Whitbread's Costa operation reporting 9.5 per cent like-for-like sales growth in the fourth quarter, and 5.3 per cent growth for the year to date.

The group said its net debt was expected to be down by around £83m at the year end, March 4, 2010, from £623m in 2009.

It added it expected results for the year to be in line with management expectations.

Yesterday Whitbread announced that following Alan Parker's retirement from the business later this year Andy Harrison, chief executive of budget airline easyJet, would take over the controls of the group.