Marston's returns to profit

Marston’s (MARS) posted its first statutory profit since 2018 as revenues recovered to pre-pandemic levels on the back of a “return to more normalised trading”. But there is uncertainty when it comes to the pub operator’s headline sales and net debt targets. By 2026, the company wants to get back to £1bn in annual sales (the FactSet consensus is that this won’t be achieved) and reduce net debt to below £1bn (this target has been pushed back a year due to the macro environment). Only time will tell if these aims are achievable or if management is too optimistic.