Revenue sinks at JD Wetherspoon as boss says cost pressures ‘mitigated to an extent’
Revenue at pub chain JD Wetherspoon has taken a hit to the tune of 13.5 per cent as the firm warns of rising costs across its business.
The company reported revenue of £807.4m, for the 26 weeks ended 23 January 2022, versus £933m in 2020.
However, chairman Tim Martin said pressure on input costs from food, drink and energy suppliers had been “mitigated to an extent, by a number of long-term contracts.”
Like for like sales dipped -11.8 per cent in the period, which included weeks where Covid measures were re-imposed amid a surge of the Omicron Covid variant.
The chain also posted a loss before tax of £21.3m, compared to a profit of £42.0m in the comparable period in 2020.
He added: “Overall, the company expects the increase in input prices to be slightly less than the level of inflation.
“Inflationary pressures in the economy have been widely publicised. Nearly 70 per cent of the company’s properties are freehold, with interest rates fixed for the next decade. Most of the company’s leasehold pubs have rent reviews which are fixed at levels below the current level of inflation.”