Anyone fighting to get to the bar for a drink in Central London during the week (like us) will know that pub sales are healthy but is that translating into profits?
Updates next week from Fuller Smith & Turner PLC (AIM:FSTA) and Young & Co should help answer that question, albeit with the caveat that both are very London-centric.
According to Peel Hunt, that Central London bias should help Fuller’s interim profits beat expectations.
Like-for-like sales are tipped to rise by an impressive 11% in this current year to April 2024, but profit forecasts might be nudged higher after the update with energy costs falling.
Other costs are proving more stubborn, but Peel Hunt still expects full-year profits to rise by over 50% to £19.3m.
Young’s too should be in very good shape, suggests the broker.
Like-for-like sales in the previous year were materially ahead of the London market, says the broker, and will slow this year against tough comparatives.
Sales growth in the first seven weeks of this year was 4.8% and Peel Hunt is assuming six sites are opened in its forecasts.
For the current year to March, it expects sales of £391 million and adjusted profits of £47.5 million, up 5%.