Greene King share price (GNK) bubble up despite the Beast from the East hitting sales
Greene King’s sales were bitten by the so-called Beast from the East earlier this year as winter storms swept through the country, but its shares jumped at the market open as it toasted the future, saying it remains well placed to combat a challenging market.
The pub group said like-for-like sales fell 1.8 per cent in a trading statement for the 49 weeks to 8 April.
A bout of cold, snowy weather over the past 12 weeks impacted trading, Greene King said, particularly in its destination food-led pubs.
Read more: Greene King slips in the snow as weather dampens Christmas trading
On an underlying basis, which excludes the impact of snow, like-for-like sales were still down 1.2 per cent, but both drink and accommodation sales were ahead of last year.
A recent report by Barclaycard found spending in the pub and restaurant sector has slowed, growing at one of the slowest rates since 2011.
But Greene King said it remains “well placed to withstand the external market challenges and deliver long-term value to our shareholders”, and predicted full-year profit before tax and exceptional items to be in the range of £240m to £245m.
Shares in the company were up 5.66 per cent to 491.2p in morning trading.
The pub firm’s prospects were also brightened up over Easter as sales rose 2.8 per cent compared with the previous year’s Easter weekend, aided by a strong set of sporting fixtures, including football and boxing.
Greene King said the £10m it invested in the second half of the year to strengthen value for money, customer service and quality was starting to positively impact trading despite challenges in the market, and disposal proceeds for the full year are set to beat expectations at £120m.
Read more: Pub group shares sink as snow hits consumer spend