If the pre-close statement is any indication, half-year numbers from hotel and restaurant giant Whitbread (WTB) should be good. Back in September, management revealed second-quarter sales growth of 12.7 per cent, based on like-for-like growth of nearly 7 per cent.
Premier Inn and Costa Coffee are still the star performers. Like-for-like sales at the budget hotel chain rocketed 9 per cent in the second quarter, and the high-street coffee chain wasn't far behind with 7 per cent underlying growth. Management says both brands are winning market share, and Premier Inn is benefiting from "a buoyant hotel market in the UK." Costa Coffee numbers have also been aided by weak comparative figures.
Whitbread's Achilles heel is the restaurant division, which reported like-for-like growth of just 1.7 per cent in the second quarter, despite a strong start to the year. Management warned that the numbers could get worse, too, after the "washout" bank holiday in August.
