There was a shade of chancellor George Osborne's Autumn Statement claim that "we are the builders" in pub group Marston's (MARS) results, which were published on the same day. It built 25 pubs in the year to 3 October, and has slated another 20 for the current financial year. Chief executive Ralph Findlay said the company "would keep expanding". He has "certainty of 2016 growth", as sites have already been acquired, and there is also "good visibility" into 2017-18. The focus for the upcoming new-builds - 134 of which have now been completed since 2009 - will be on pub-restaurants and the increasingly important premium side of the business.
Underlying pre-tax profits rose 10 per cent to £91.5m, reflecting the contribution from new sites. Encouragingly, though, like-for-like sales were up in each of the group's three pub divisions. The numbers were also helped by the brewing division, which acquired Thwaites during the year.
Food is becoming a bigger focus for Marston's, as for all pubs, and now accounts for 58 per cent of sales in its 360 destination pubs. The company is also continuing to roll out various food initiatives, including the 'better burger and pizza' concept in its premium Revere pubs. The focus on food was amplified by the fact Marston's disposed of 117 smaller wet-led pubs during the year.
House broker Numis expects adjusted pre-tax profits of £99m in the 2016 financial year, leading to EPS of 13.7p, compared with £91.5m and 12.8p in FY2015.
| MARSTON'S (MARS) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 164p | MARKET VALUE: | £943m | |
| TOUCH: | 164.5-164.9p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 174p | LOW: 136p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 2.7% | PE RATIO: | 40 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 136p* | NET DEBT: | 159% | |
| Year to 3 Oct | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 682 | 81 | 12.1 | 5.8 |
| 2012 | 720 | -135 | -19.4 | 6.1 |
| 2013 | 783 | 68 | 10.0 | 6.4 |
| 2014 | 815 | -59 | -8.9 | 6.7 |
| 2015 | 879 | 31 | 4.1 | 7.0 |
| % change | +8 | - | - | +4 |
Ex-div: 17 Dec Payment: 1 Feb *Includes intangible assets of £265m, or 46p a share | ||||
