Whitbread confident on FY despite flat first quarter

(Sharecast News) - Premier Inn owner Whitbread said it was confident on its full year outlook despite flat first quarter sales. Hotel sales were boosted by a strong performance in Germany, where they rose 15%, offsetting zero growth in the UK. Group sales, which include food and beverages, rose 1% to £739m.

"While midweek business demand and peak leisure demand remained robust, weekend demand at short-lead was slightly softer, particularly in London, reflecting a return to more normalised levels after what was a very strong performance last year," the company said on Tuesday.

UK food and beverage sales were 1% behind last year, with strong breakfast sales driven by high occupancy in hotels offset by softer trading in a number of Whitbread's branded restaurants.

"Whilst the normal booking pattern means our forward visibility remains limited, our forward booked position is positive and we remain confident in the full year outlook. This reflects a more encouraging trading performance in the UK, our strong commercial programme and increased cost efficiencies, as well as good progress in Germany," said chief executive Dominic Paul.

Reporting by Frank Prenesti for Sharecast.com