Marston’s like-for-like sales up 3% in last 10 weeks

Marston’s has said that like-for-like sales were up 3% over the 10 weeks from 24 July to 1 October compared to 2019, which the business described as “encouraging” and continuing to improve.

In a trading update for the 52 weeks to 1 October 2022, the pub group said total like-for-like sales for the period were down 1% against 2019, reflecting the impact of trading restrictions in December and January due to Omicron and the corresponding impact on consumer sentiment.

Total retail sales in the group’s managed and franchise pubs were up 2% against 2019, with drink sales continuing to outperform food sales.

For the 10 weeks between July and October, the business said growth continued to be predominantly driven by drink sales, with weaker food sales principally due to the hot weather.

The business said customer demand remained “encouraging” despite uncertainty around the cost of living.

Marston’s expressed confidence that the group’s gas price was fixed until the end of March 2025 with no additional incremental spend anticipated. Electricity costs in the last 10 weeks of the 2022 financial year, meanwhile, were “higher than originally expected” due the volatile energy market over the last few months. It said its electricity was hedged for the first half of the 2023 financial year, covering October 2022 to March 2023. The company said the recent announcement by the government concerning the energy price cap was “helpful” and “further protects our H1 energy spend”.

Regarding the second half of the year, Marston's said, “we await the review of the price cap, albeit we currently remain comfortable with the guidance we have provided on energy costs for the group’s financial year as a whole”.

At the year end, the group had £65m of headroom against its £280m bank facility and £10m of cash.

Chief executive Andrew Andrea said: “This is a good performance, with the trading momentum we experienced in the Summer continuing. Marston’s has a long-term capital structure which is well suited to the current market environment and we remain committed to our debt reduction strategy with which we continue to make progress. We are managing cost inflation well with food, drink and energy costs covered for the immediate future.

“While we are not complacent and can’t predict what the future will hold, what is clear is that people want – and are continuing – to visit our predominantly community pubs. The level of customer demand we are experiencing is encouraging which underpins our confidence that our strategy is working and we are making positive progress in that regard.

"Looking forward, we are primed to maximise the trading opportunities provided by the forthcoming World Cup and first restriction-free Christmas in three years. Marston’s is in good shape and well positioned to navigate the future.”