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Spirit beats expectations

Analysts' believe Spirit Pub Co will beat profit forecasts for 2014 following a strong fourth quarter.
September 3, 2014

Analysts at broker Numis Securities have upgraded 2014 pre-tax profit forecasts for Spirit Pub Company (SPRT) by 3 per cent to £59m following a bullish trading update from the group. Like-for-like sales across the managed estate rose 4.4 per cent during the 52 weeks to 16 August, including a 2.1 per cent increase in the final quarter. The last 12 weeks outperformed the wider market: the CGA Peach Tracker rose by an average of 1.3 per cent between June and July.

IC TIP: Buy at 79p

Spirit acquired 11 managed pubs in the fourth quarter, prompting Numis to upgrade 2015 pre-tax profit forecasts by 3 per cent as well, this time to £63m.