UK pub group Marston’s says Christmas bookings top year-ago levels -December 05, 2023 at 02:34 am EST

Dec 5 (Reuters) – Marston’s said on Tuesday its
Christmas bookings topped last year’s numbers and also forecast
an improved medium-term margin growth after the British pub
group posted a lower-than-expected jump in annual profit.

British pub groups are hoping to usher in customers as
Britons gear up for a merry holiday season in a year blighted by
a prolonged cost-of-living squeeze and gloomy macro-economic
outlook.

“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,” Chair William Rucker said in a
statement.

The pub chain, which has not declared a dividend since
2020, said the group has continued to manage inflationary
challenges, with electricity charges fixed until the end of
fiscal year 2024 and gas rates until March-end 2025.

The company, which had stated it benefited from increased
customer preference towards premium lagers such as San Miguel
and Birra Moretti than standard lagers, said it was targeting a
2% margin growth in the medium term.

The Wolverhampton-based company, which operates more than
1,400 pubs and bars primarily based in local communities in
Britain, said its pre-tax profit for the 52-week period ended
Sept. 30 was 35.5 million pounds ($44.8 million), compared with
LSEG estimates of 41.4 million pounds based on an average of
seven analysts.

($1 = 0.7920 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by
Sherry Jacob-Phillips)