Charles Wells profits up 7.9% to £11m

Charles Wells saw year-on-year operating profit rise 7.9% to £11m in the year to September 2010, aided by growing sales at its new and re-opened pubs.

Net profit before tax was £9.3m, up from £3m following the write-down of the brewer and pub operator's distribution centre, according to its accounts for 2010.

Editda increased 15% following a £25m investment in 2009, which saw the Bedford-based company buy 31 pubs — 27 from Punch Taverns — and re-open four after refurbishments.

Charles Wells sold 12 pubs in 2009 and its estate stood at 251 in September 2010.

Total beer sales at Wells & Youngs Brewing Company were up 0.8%, with editda maintained at £11m. The figures include sales of Corona Extra, which joined Molson Coors' portfolio in December.

The cost base of the brewery was "lowered" and the brewing business "will soon be debt free".

Two new beers were launched in the UK in the period — Young's London Gold and Mongoose Premium Beer — and Charles Wells signed an agreement to import, market and distribute Spanish premium lager Estrella Damm.

The firm also made a "significant marketing investment" across its core cask beers.

Sales at Charles Wells' John Bull pubs in France increased 19%. A seventh site, the Robin Hood in Montpellier, opened in May and all were converted to managed pubs.

Chief executive Paul Wells said: "We have delivered these improved profits despite a year of challenges from the economy and a declining beer market. An operating profit of £11m is a strong performance and is a reflection of everyone's hard work.

"We spent the year integrating the 31 pubs which we purchased in 2009, and we re-opened four refurbished pubs. This led to the ebitda per pub increasing by 15% which reflects the steady improvements in the quality of the estate."

Elsewhere, exports grew 3.3%, helped by "promising growth in developing markets such as Sweden and Russia".

And the vacated distribution centre in Bedford has now been let "on a long-term commercial basis".

Wells bemoaned the impact of the duty escalator and VAT rise, saying the country is "in danger of losing hundreds of great pubs because of the tax burden placed on them".