Encouraging results for Belhaven owner Greene King

Belhaven owners Greene King revealed, in its interim results for the 24 weeks to 13 October, that it saw revenue growth of 5.2% with group profits rising 5.7% to £85.6m. Its pub division did particularly well with average EBITDA per pub up 5.2%. The brewing and brands side of the business saw own-brewed volumes increase 1.7%. With Rooney Anand, GK’s chief executive telling The Scotsman that Belhaven “performed very well.” Strong growth came from food, which accounts for 41% of pub sales. Group profits rose 5.7 per cent to £85.6m, however the company’s pre-tax profits dropped to £65.6m But that included a £7m payment which arose from losing a Court of Appeal battle with HM Revenue & Customs over VAT on gaming machines,
Rooney Anand, Greene King chief executive officer, said, ,”This is a very pleasing set of figures and we have made great progress in the first half of this financial year. Growth has once again been led by our retail business, which grew profits by 8% over last year, helped by a combination of organic growth and further strategic acquisitions. The tenanted and brewing businesses also performed well, helping the overall business to deliver healthy earnings, dividend growth and further improvement in our return on capital employed.
While trading through the first half of the year and since the period-end has been strong, and the economic outlook looks to be improving, customers remain careful with their money, particularly outside London and the South East.”