Marston's upbeat as full-year profits rise

(Sharecast News) - Pub group Marston's reported a rise in full-year profit and revenue on Tuesday as it struck an upbeat note about the outlook. In the 52 weeks to 28 September, underlying pre-tax profit rose 64.5% to £42.1m. Revenue grew 3% to £898.6m and like-for-like sales were up 4.8%, consistently outpacing the broader market, with growth in both food and drink sales.

Statutory pre-tax profit was £14.4m compared to a loss of £30.6m the year before.

The company highlighted "positive" current trading, with LFL sales in the first six weeks up 3.9%, "marking a strong start to the year and demonstrating continued growth ahead of the market".

It also said that Christmas bookings are tracking ahead of last year, with many venues securing high levels of reservations.

Chief executive officer Justin Platt said: "2024 has been a defining year for Marston's as we began an exciting new chapter as a leading pure-play hospitality business. The sale of our stake in CMBC has been transformational, enabling us to significantly reduce debt, increase our flexibility and focus on what we do best: running great local pubs.

"This single-minded focus, combined with our rejuvenated strategy, is already showing in strong financial results. We've delivered like-for-like sales growth ahead of the market, significant margin improvements and robust cash flow, while current trading is encouraging with Christmas bookings already ahead of last year."

Marston's sold its 40% stake in Carlsberg Marston's Brewing Company (CMBC) in July.

At 0930 GMT, the shares were up 7.8% at 43.40p.