Like-for-like sales increased by 3.4% in the 13 weeks to 26 April, with year-to-date growth at 4.3%. Total sales rose by 4.1% in the quarter and 4.9% year to date.
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Chairman Tim Martin said the business had outperformed the NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker for the 43rd consecutive month in March, although growth in the third quarter was slightly behind the year-to-date trend.
Expansion
The group opened eight pubs and sold eight in the year to date, with a further 13 franchised openings. It now operates 794 managed pubs, alongside 21 franchised sites.
JDW said it has a strong pipeline of new openings, with future sites planned in transport hubs and key city centre locations including Manchester Airport, Heathrow Airport, Paddington station, Charing Cross station and Shaftesbury Avenue.
The group has also begun expanding its airport strategy overseas, with new sites opened and planned in Spain as part of its longer-term growth ambitions.
The focus on high-footfall locations builds on the company’s wider strategy to grow its estate through targeted openings, having previously outlined plans to open up to 15 managed pubs and between 15 and 20 franchised sites in the current financial year.
The company has also continued to invest in its estate, purchasing the freehold reversions of four pubs for £12.2m in the year to date. Since 2011, it has spent £489m on freehold reversions.
It expects year-end net debt to be between £740m and £760m, with interest costs of around £47m, in line with the previous financial year.
Cost pressures
Despite the sales growth, Martin warned that rising costs across the sector are likely to weigh on profits.
He said: “As many hospitality operators, including Wetherspoon, have reported, there have been substantial increases in costs, which may result in profits slightly below market expectations.”
External analysts echoed the pressure facing the group. Julie Palmer, managing partner at BTG Advisory, said the business continued to show resilience but would need to carefully manage margins.
She said: “Wetherspoon will be relying on keeping prices as low as patrons have come to expect and driving sales volume high to maintain a strong bottom line, but the inevitable next step may need to be hiking prices to absorb soaring costs.”
The warning comes as pricing continues to come under scrutiny across the sector. Reports yesterday highlighted how pint prices in parts of London have reached £10 in premium venues, reflecting what the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA) described as “intense and unsustainable” cost pressures facing operators.
Against this backdrop, Wetherspoon’s value-led model continues to differentiate it from higher-priced competitors, with the group historically focused on maintaining lower price points to drive volume.
