Marston's PLC reported that higher revenue, driven by drink sales, had helped the pub chain more than halve pre-tax losses at the half-year stage.
The firm, which runs 1,440 pubs, said revenue climbed to £407mln in the 26 weeks to 1 April 2023 from £369.7mln a year ago, while the underlying pre-tax loss narrowed to £3.6mln from £7.5mln.
Marston's CEO Andrew Andrea said: “Our H1 performance clearly demonstrates that consumers remain as keen as ever to celebrate - and socialise within - the Great British Pub.”
First-half like-for-like sales were 10.7% higher year-on-year and up 17.9% against the pre-pandemic financial year 2020.
Drink sales continue to perform well and food sales were encouraging, demonstrating the “trading resilience” of the group's pub estate.
Marston’s reported positive current trading, with like-for-like sales in the last six weeks up 7.9% against last year, with the key Easter and first May bank holiday dates also strong.
“Trading patterns [are] normalising with encouraging consumer resilience,” Marston’s noted, as it said operating profit is in line with expectations, with further cash generation and debt reduction expected.