Growth in drink sales outstrips food as Spirit reports positive results
The company, which acquired 11 pubs for its managed division during the most recent quarter, said it has outperformed the market in both divisions over the 12 weeks.
In the managed arm, like-for-like net sales were +4.8% across the 52 weeks to 16 August and Spirit said the latest results are “encouraging as they come on top of strong comparatives from last year”.
Like-for-like drink sales (+2.3) grew stronger than food sales (+2%) over the 12 weeks, reflecting the performance over the 52 weeks, when drinks was at +4.5% and food at +4.1%.
Spirit said: “The robust performance of our managed pubs has continued in the quarter with like-for-like performance remaining ahead of the market.
“During the quarter to 16 August 2014, we acquired 11 pubs into our managed division and will convert these into our Spirit brands over the coming weeks. We expect these pubs to generate returns materially ahead of our cost of capital.”
Like-for-like net income in the leased arm was +4.8% in the 16 weeks and +4.2% across the 52 weeks. Like-for-like net turnover was +1.1% in the quarter and +2.8% in the 52 weeks.
Consecutive growth
Spirit said: “The market-leading performance of our leased estate, as a result of the continued execution of our strategy, has now delivered four consecutive quarters of like-for-like net income growth.”
Mike Tye, chief executive, said: “We are pleased with our strong performance in the quarter, particularly when compared to the good summer weather last year. Both the managed estate and the leased estate have outperformed their respective markets.
“While the market still remains challenging, the strategy we have put in place continues to deliver consistently solid results through investment in our brands, estate, infrastructure and people. We remain confident in the long-term outlook for the business and expect full year results to be ahead of market expectations.”
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