Fuller Smith & Turner PLC (AIM:FSTA) said sales have returned to pre-pandemic levels as supply chain management and its "premium" offering provide "a degree of protection" from the challenges facing the hospitality sector.
The pubs and hotels group told investors the “sales recovery is continuing, especially in the City and West End of London,” following the unprecedented impact of lockdowns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Total sales were up 3% on pre-pandemic levels and 81% over the first quarter of last year, Fuller's said in a trading statement for the 16 weeks through to 16 July. On a like-for-like basis sales increased 27% year on year in the first quarter.
Fuller's is due to hold its annual general meeting in person in London at The George IV pub in Chiswick at 11:00 this morning, where stakeholders will be able to vote on a series of resolutions including directors' pay packets.
In the first financial quarter of this year, the pub chain said it bought one new site that is due to open in early August, The Queen’s Arms at Heathrow Terminal Two, where it also operates a London’s Pride pub.
It said it is in the “advanced stages of negotiation” to acquire three new pub or hotel sites.
Fuller's chief executive Simon Emeny said: “We are pleased with our sales growth trajectory, particularly in our Central London sites where momentum is building well.
“The industry-wide inflationary cost pressures around food supply, labour and particularly energy are showing little signs of abating. Our premium offer and effective supply chain management provide a degree of protection, but we are not immune from its effects on costs or consumer behaviour.”
Fuller's said it has total available facilities of £226mln and reduced its net debt to £123.6mln as of 17 July, down from £131.9mln at the start of the financial year.
It estimates a net asset value per share of £13.80, based on the directors’ valuation on 26 March.
The company is due to issue its results for the six months to 24 September on 17 November.