Hot summer helps Young's secure 19.5% jump in pre-tax profits

The hottest summer on record helped Young's pub group secure a 19.5% boost in pre-tax profits in the 26 weeks to 1 October 2018.

Total revenue was up 8.8% in the period, reaching £156.8m, while EBITDA increased by 4.7% to a half-year company record of £40.4m.

Like-for-like sales were up 5.2% through the summer, with strong trading continuing into the first six weeks of the second half of the year.

Patrick Dardis, chief executive of Young's, said: "I am very pleased to report another strong period of trading, driven by our well-invested managed house estate, which has once again outperformed the wider market.

"Propelled by the hottest English summer on record, our beautiful riverside locations, stunning gardens and growing number of roof terraces helped to deliver 5.2% like-for-like sales growth in our managed houses, continuing our trend of exceptional summer performances with average like-for-like sales growth of 5.6% over the past seven years.

"Drink sales enjoyed a particularly strong summer with double-digit growth of just over 10% in total and 7.4% on a like-for-like basis, while recent investment in our hotel business saw accommodation sales rise by just over 18% during the period.

"Despite severe cost headwinds and ongoing political uncertainty, our expectations for the full year remain unchanged and, thanks to one of the lowest levels of gearing in the sector, we have significant financial capacity for future investment with a strong pipeline of acquisition opportunities."

Young's celebrates profit growth in ‘difficult business environment'>>

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