Trading Update Announcement
Like-for-like sales up 5.6% in quarter to 27 April; 795 pubs operating; net debt anticipated at £720-740m.
- Like-for-like sales growth (13 weeks) 5.6%
- Like-for-like sales growth (YTD) 5.1%
- Total sales growth (13 weeks) 5.0%
- Total sales growth (YTD) 4.2%
- Pubs currently operating 795
- Year-end net debt anticipated £720-740 million
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J D Wetherspoon plc ('J D Wetherspoon' or 'the Company'), announces a trading update for the 13-week period to 27 April 2025.
Current Trading
Like-for-like sales increased by 5.6% in the 13 weeks to 27 April 2025, compared to the same period last year. Year-to-date (YTD) like-for-like sales increased by 5.1%.
Total sales increased by 5.0% in the quarter and by 4.2% YTD. Total sales are slightly less than like-for-like sales as a result of a small number of pub disposals, as indicated in "Property" below.
Property
In the YTD, the company has opened two pubs and sold seven.
We intend to open a further four or five pubs in this financial year and approximately 10 pubs in the following financial year.
Seven freehold reversions, where Wetherspoon was previously the tenant, have been acquired in the YTD, at a total cost of £17 million.
The company currently operates 795 pubs.
An additional seven pubs now operate under a franchise agreement, four of which opened during the last quarter, all operated by Haven Holiday Parks. They are: The Red Rocks, Devon Cliffs, Devon; The Humber Stone, Cleethorpes Beach, Lincolnshire; The London Stone, Kent Coast, Kent; The Sir Thomas Haggerston, Haggerston Castle, Northumberland.
Financial Position
In the YTD, the company has purchased 7,236,487 of its own shares for cancellation at an average price of £5.76 a share.
We currently anticipate year-end net debt of between £720 million and £740 million, with headroom, under existing facilities, of approximately £200 million.
Outlook
The chairman of JD Wetherspoon, Tim Martin, said:
"The company's main ambition, as always, is to improve its appeal to staff and customers. In this connection, for example, the company has invested in new staff facilities in 520 pubs (49 in the current year), including staff rooms and changing rooms, with approximately 270 planned for the future. The investment per pub is approximately £100,000.
"The product range for customers continues to evolve. For example, the company has recently introduced, nationwide, the highly regarded Jaipur traditional ale from the Thornbridge Brewery, as well as renowned international beer brands, Kronenbourg 1664 Biere and Poretti.
"As regards the menu, new initiatives include a gourmet burger offer, which has proved extremely popular in the pubs in which it has been trialled.
"Bearing in mind that recent trading has been helped by favourable weather, the company anticipates a reasonable outcome for the financial year, notwithstanding previously reported wage and tax increases of approximately £1.2 million per week."
Visit our website: www.jdwetherspoon.com
4.
- The current financial year comprises 52 trading weeks to 27 July 2025.
- The next trading update is expected to be the Company's statement on 23 July 2025.
Cleaned text: letterheads, contacts and legal notices removed. View the original announcement ↗ · Company filings. Not investment advice.