Wetherspoon rallies against higher taxes
PUBS OPERATOR JD Wetherspoon said yesterday “unsustainable” higher costs from a tough tax regime in Britain left it cautious on full-year prospects, even as it reported a rise in third-quarter sales.
The company, which has over 800 pubs across Britain, said its tax bill in the current financial year would be about half a billion pounds, up nearly £50m from last year.
“We have also created approximately 3,000 jobs in the same period, but all of the economic benefits of our expansion are currently being levied by the government as taxes – an unsustainable situation,” said chairman Tim Martin.
During the third-quarter, like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to 22 April were up two per cent, while total company sales rose 8.4 per cent. Wetherspoon said operating margin during the period was 8.1 per cent, down from 9.3 per cent in the first half. The company warned that second-half margins would still be lower than the first half. “We continue to be slightly more cautious about the potential outcome for the current financial year,” it said. The firm expects a full-year pre-tax profit of £67.4m.