Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) will update the market on Thursday 19 June with first-quarter numbers that will be scrutinised for further signs of trading stabilisation and margin discipline following what was widely seen as a mixed set of full-year results last month.
In early May, the Premier Inn owner reported a 14% fall in adjusted pre-tax profit, slightly below expectations, as revenue per available room (revPAR) fell 2%.
The last update suggested trading in the UK was softer, but not as weak as feared, as the FTSE 100 group outperformed the M&E market (meeting and events) in the second half by 0.3 percentage points on RevPAR growth and Premier Inn Germany saw total sales grow 21% and also outperform the M&E market.
And in the first seven weeks of its new financial year, it said Premier Inn UK saw accommodation sales fall 1% but continued to outperform the M&E market on both accommodation sales and RevPAR growth, while UK food and drink sales were down 16% after the "removal" of a number of lower-returning restaurants.
Premier Inn Germany saw accommodation sales up 23% while RevPAR was €63, ahead of the M&E market.
It was a pretty "sluggish" start, said analyst Derren Nathan at Hargreaves Lansdown.
"If rival Travelodge’s first quarter update is anything to go by, there’s little reason to believe that Whitbread’s trading statement next week will show an improving trend later in the first quarter, with hotel prices showing some softness.
"However, there are some early signs of bookings picking up for the second half of 2025."
Analysts and investors will be looking for follow-through on that cost efficiency promise, now targeted at £60 million this year, as well as any further progress in narrowing the gap between Premier Inn’s UK performance and the wider budget hotel market.
Modest losses in Germany are forecast to swing to profit in the current year, and any evidence that the business is tracking ahead of that guidance could offer upside to the investment case.
The update also comes amid a boardroom handover. Chairman Adam Crozier, who oversaw the £3.9 billion Costa Coffee disposal and a strategic refocus on hotels and gastropubs, is stepping down in September after seven years in the role.