Britain’s Indian summer drove a 14 per cent jump in underlying operating profits at Young & Co’s Brewery (YNGA) in the six months to 29 September. Like-for-like sales across the managed estate rose 7 per cent, and the tenanted division returned to growth, with underlying sales up nearly 5 per cent.
The group has invested heavily in its London-centric estate in the past six months. It picked up private pubco 580 Ltd for £10.4m after the period-end, adding four new managed pubs to its portfolio. These include the Defector's World (a freehold in Shepherds Bush) and the Owl & Pussycat, a leasehold in trendy Shoreditch. It also expanded its hotel business, adding 63 rooms during the period through a mix of acquisitions, transfers and conversions of existing space.
Chief executive Stephen Goodyear said Young & Co's wouldn’t be affected by the mooted part-abolition of the beer tie currently under review at Westminster, due to the size of its estate. But he nonetheless labelled the laws "unfortunate and unnecessary". So far, second-half like-for-like sales are up 8 per cent, with Christmas bookings 7 per cent ahead of last year.
Prior to these results, analysts at JP Morgan forecast EPS of 45.2p for the current financial year, up from 42.7p.
| YOUNG & CO'S BREWARY (YNGA) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 982p | MARKET VALUE: | £433m* | |
| TOUCH: | 1,010-1,049p | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 1,100p | LOW: 910p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.6% | PE RATIO: | 20 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 808p* | NET DEBT: | 30% | |
| Half-year to 29 Sep | Turnover (£m) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 108 | 14.9 | 28.0 | 7.45 |
| 2014 | 117 | 18.8 | 30.4 | 7.90 |
| % change | +8 | +26 | +9 | +6 |
Ex-div: 27 Nov Payment: 12 Dec *Reflects both 'A' and non-voting shares | ||||
