Mitchells & Butlers' (MAB) benefited from a mix of stable operating revenues and reduced interest charges that kept adjusted operating profits ticking up by 5.1 per cent to £312m for the year. The company cut capital investment by £19m, too, but it looks like a Christmas season that falls in the optimal mid-week slot is the key to building short-term momentum.
M&B's estate is increasingly weighted towards food and like-for-like food sales actually increased by 0.8 per cent. That did, however, reflect price increases and higher spending in certain areas rather than overall volume, which generally declined. Wet sales also continued their long-term downward trend with a 0.2 per cent drop, although excellent weather in the second half helped moderate the fall somewhat, and group like-for-like sales for the period grew 0.4 per cent. Management blamed the ongoing gap between the London market and its regional estate as the main reason why like-for-like sales in the first eight weeks of the current financial year were up by a modest 0.1 per cent.
Deutsche Bank forecasts adjusted pre-tax profit of £191m for 2014, giving adjusted EPS of 35.8p, up from £184m and 34.7p this time.
MITCHELLS & BUTLERS (MAB) | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
ORD PRICE: | 417p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.72bn | |
TOUCH: | 416-417p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 475p | LOW: 293p |
DIVIDEND YIELD: | nil | PE RATIO: | 13 | |
NET ASSET VALUE: | 296p | NET DEBT: | 144% |
Year to 28 Sep | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
---|---|---|---|---|
2009 | 1.96 | -10.0 | 1.00 | nil |
2010 | 1.98 | -127 | -20.6 | nil |
2011 | 1.80 | 132 | 30.7 | nil |
2012* | 1.89 | 83.0 | 17.1 | nil |
2013 | 1.90 | 150 | 32.9 | nil |
% change | - | +81 | +92 | - |
*53-week period |