Marston’s falls to £20.7m loss despite strong revenues
Both drink sales and food sales have been strong, demonstrating the resilience and appeal of our business
Pub chain Marston’s has fallen to a £20.7m loss despite reporting a 9.1% increase in revenues to £872.3m for the 52 weeks ending 30 September 2023.
The loss comes in the face of a £163.4m profit a year earlier with the pub group attributing the performance to being hit by interest rate swap movements and charges linked to weaker property valuations.
Despite this, the group said it has been encouraged by its revenue performance which has been bolstered by promising Christmas bookings that are tracking ahead of last year.
The group, which operates 1,414 pubs in the UK, also saw its underlying operating profit increase from £115.4m to £124.8m.
Positive trading momentum from the previous financial year has continued in recent months, with like-for-like sales up 7.4% since September 30 and up 10.1% overall on last year. Both drink sales and food sales have been strong, demonstrating the resilience and appeal of our business.
Additionally, the pub group has also appointed Justin Platt as its new chief executive officer with effect from 10 January 2024. This comes after Andrew Andrea decided with the board that he would step down as CEO as of 17 November 2023.
William Rucker, chair, will support the management transition in the short interim period with the Executive team reporting directly to him prior to Platt being in situ.
Looking ahead, the group expects to achieve its two primary corporate goals of reducing the group’s debt (excluding IFRS 16 lease liabilities) to below £1bn by 2026 and to achieve £1bn in sales.
William Rucker, Marston’s chair, said: “We have continued to make positive progress on our key goals and strategic initiatives. The consumer has remained resilient despite the macro backdrop and Marston’s continues to trade well, achieving market outperformance.
“We anticipate an improving outlook in which cost headwinds are largely abating and like-for-like sales are up over 7% since the year end. This, together with the actions we have taken this year to drive further efficiencies, leave us confident that Marston’s remains well-placed to continue to outperform and to grow revenue, margin and profitability.”
He added: “We look forward to welcoming Justin Platt who joins the Group as CEO in January. The business is in good shape and well-positioned to take advantage of the future opportunities open to us to create value for our shareholders under his stewardship.”
