It truly was the most wonderful time of the year for Greene King (GNK). The pub group reported record Christmas Day sales of £7.7m, while sales over the two-week period covering Christmas and New Year were up 10.9 per cent. All sales categories reported like-for-like sales growth over the last six weeks of the calendar year, most strongly in drink sales.
Over the 36 weeks of trading so far in Greene King’s financial year, pub company comparable sales are up 3.2 per cent. The strong start for the pub company compared with a 1 per cent decline in net profit for the pub partners division. While total beer volumes in brewing and brands improved by 1.8 per cent, own-brand beer volumes fell 2.3 per cent. The pub group’s cost mitigation programme is on track to limit net cost inflation to £10m-£20m in the financial year.