One of the better Drinks industry Investments/trades.

Certainly got Momentum in its favour and we have a bottom triangle/wedge formation breakout.

First resistance level at around 500p.



dyor

Two recent Broker Buy notes...

Greene King PLC

FORECASTS
2009 2010

Date Rec Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p) Pre-tax () EPS (p) DPS (p)

Oriel Securities
16-03-09 BUY 120.00 67.20 26.00 114.00 63.80 26.00

Singer Capital Markets Ltd
16-03-09 BUY 117.10 65.10 26.10 113.90 63.50 26.10

good luck gf the only drinks share I hold is Punch and they are rock bottom.

Marston's and Greene King to represent what used to be called the beerage, in jocular reference to the preponderance of toffs in the board rooms of Britain's brewers. Both groups are expected to report that food sales continue to drive growth as the Great British boozer slowly mutates into a place where people eat as well as drink. Investment analysts will be keen to see how well Greene King's Capital purchase is doing - the experience of Young's and its purchase of Capital Pub facsimile Geronimo Inns suggests that the acquisition has been performing well - while as for Marston's, progress on the firm's schedule of purpose-built food-led outlets will be eagerly awaited

Interim results.

HIGHLIGHTS

Retail like-for-like sales growth of 4% and 10% operating profit growth

Food growth of 16%; strong sector outperformance

Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners up 3%

Brewing & Brands achieved 2% core brand own-brewed volume growth; profits up 4%

Strong cash generation supports interim dividend growth of over 6%

Current trading strong; Retail like-for-like sales +4% in last six weeks

Think of Christmas spirit, and many people will think of the kind that comes in a bottle, so how have the UK's boozers done over the holiday?

Brewer and pub operator Greene King will provide us with an interim update on Tuesday, and the year is expected to be pretty flat overall -- there's a small EPS drop and a small dividend rise expected. At the current price of 480p, the shares are on a P/E of 9.4 with a 5% dividend forecast, which perhaps looks cheap. But like some of Britain's other pub chains, there's a lot of debt on the books -- £1.4bn at the last year-end in April.

What`s your prediction for the share price movement for tomorrow DC?

The debt of the company is a problem. The fact that trading is flat, the sp may be pretty static.

Greene King retail like-for-like sales up 8.2%

Record Christmas Performance
17 January, 2012

Greene King announces its Interim Management Statement for the 37 weeks to 15 January 2012.

• Retail like-for-like sales up 8.2% and food like-for-like sales up 11.1%, last seven weeks
• Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners up 5.9%, last eight weeks
• Core brand own-brewed volumes up 7.4%, last seven weeks

Rooney Anand, Chief Executive, said: “This was another strong performance driven by the strength of our business and our continued commitment to providing unrivalled value, service and quality to our customers.

It is clear that even in these difficult times, customers still look for enjoyment and some respite from the financial pressures they are facing. Across the UK, the pub becomes the real heart of the community during Christmas. Supported by better weather conditions than in the previous year, we saw record Christmas bookings and our like-for-like sales in Christmas week were up 17%. Food sales were £1.7m on Christmas Day alone, and we sold 365,000 Christmas meals in December, another record for Greene King.”

TRADING

Greene King Retail, our largest and fastest growing business, saw like-for-like (LFL) sales up 8.2% in the last seven weeks, delivering 4.7% growth in the year-to-date. All major sales categories achieved strong growth in the period with food LFL sales up 11.1%, driving further growth in food’s share of Retail sales. In the year-to-date, food LFL sales are up 6.3%. Our three acquisitions in 2011 – Cloverleaf Restaurants, Realpubs and Capital Pub Company – have all traded very well over Christmas, and we have made further progress on our Retail expansion strategy with a further six new sites added.

We continue to expect that full year margins in Greene King Retail will be in line with the previous financial year.

Pub Partners continues to perform well. In the last eight weeks, average EBITDA per pub was up 5.9%, delivering 3.4% growth in the first 36 weeks of the financial year. LFL EBITDA is down 0.4% after 36 weeks with LFL EBITDA in our core estate ahead of last year. There are 23 Meet & Eat franchised sites in Pub Partners and we expect around 40 sites to be open by the end of the financial year. Since the half year, we have made a further 21 non-core pub disposals from Pub Partners.

In Brewing & Brands over the last seven weeks, core brand own-brewed volume was up 7.4%, with year-to-date volume growth now at 2.9%. This compares to the UK ale market, in the five months to November, down 6.1%. Within our portfolio of category leading ale brands, Old Speckled Hen, the UK’s no.1 premium ale brand, and Belhaven Best, Scotland’s no.1 ale brand, have grown particularly strongly.

Overall, our profit, cashflow and balance sheet remain in line with our expectations.

OUTLOOK

Although we expect another difficult environment for the UK consumer in 2012, we remain confident that we will continue to deliver growth and value to our shareholders, driven by the strength of business, our Retail expansion strategy and our focus on offering unrivalled value, service and quality to our customers.

For further information:


Greene King plc Tel: 01284 763222
Rooney Anand, chief executive
Matthew Fearn, group finance director

Capital MSL Tel: 0207 307 5330
Steffan Williams
Richard Campbell

NOTES FOR EDITORS

 Greene King operates c.2400 pubs, restaurants and hotels across England, Wales and Scotland, of which c.950 are in our largest and fastest growing business, Retail. Its leading retail brands are Hungry Horse, Old English Inns, Loch Fyne Restaurants and Eating Inn.

 Greene King also brews Greene King IPA, the no.1 cask ale in the UK, Old Speckled Hen, the no.1 premium ale in the UK, Abbot Ale, the no.1 premium cask ale in the UK and Belhaven Best, the no.1 ale brand in Scotland.

On Monday, brewer and pubs group Greene King issues a pre-closed period trading update and Peel Hunt warns that, with the group going up against tough comparitives, the strength of like-for-like sales (LFL) growth is likely to be more IPA than Abbot Ale. "After an extremely strong fourth quarter [Q4] in 2011, when LFL sales ran at +7%, the managed pubs will do well to achieve +2% growth this Q4, after +8.2% last time the company reported (for the 7 weeks to 15 January), bringing the 51-week LFL to around +4%," Peel Hunt said. As for the tenanted division, Peel Hunt thinks LFL sales will actually decline year-on-year, by as much as 1%, in the final quarter of the financial year.

PRE-CLOSE TRADING UPDATE

STRONG TRADING CONTINUES INTO FOURTH QUARTER

Greene King announces its pre-close trading update for the 50 weeks to 15 April 2012. Its preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 29 April 2012 will be announced on 28 June 2012.

· Retail like-for-like (LFL) sales up 4.6% and up 4.5% in the last thirteen weeks
· Food LFL sales in Retail up 6.3% and up 6.7% in the last thirteen weeks
· Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners up 3.8% after 48 weeks
· Core brand own-brewed volumes up 0.8%

On Thursday, Greene King, will release full-year results, and they should be decent. There'll be nothing sparkling, with earnings expected to be flat, but we should see a dividend of around 4.6% with the shares on a P/E of about 10. Net debt is large, though, as is often the case with operators of pub chains.

Broker snap: Greene King's got further to go, says Peel HuntFri 22 June 2012 11:05
A A A
Peel Hunt has hiked its target price for pubs group Greene King and reiterated its 'buy' rating, saying that the stock still has some upside despite the recent strong performance ahead of its full-year results.

"The shares, up 8% in the last week, are clearly now in the process of re-rating as we have predicted. We believe there is much further to go, with Greene King's leading position likely to become very apparent at the finals," said analyst Paul Hickman.

The firm's results are due on June 28th and Peel Hunt says to expect a beat due a strong fourth quarter. Its forecast is slightly ahead of consensus estimates of £149m in pre-tax profit and 51.9p in earnings per share.

"Retail like-for-like (LFL) sales over-performed the sector average and are strong by any standards, at +4.5% in the final difficult quarter, or +4.6% for the year to date.

"While the final two weeks will be lower against the tough Royal Wedding comparative, which may reduce Q4 as low as +2% LFL, this is an excellent result in a tough year, and certainly well ahead of the 2-3% growth required to offset inflationary input pressure," Hickman said.

The target price is raised from 561p to 617p.

Shares were trading 0.86% lower at 519.5p on Friday morning.

28 June 2012


GREENE KING plc



Preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 29 April 2012



http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4397122

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
· Retail like-for-like sales growth of 4%; food sales growth of 17%.

· Retail operating profit growth of 13%; EBITDA per pub over £200k for first time.

· Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners up 4%; substantive agreements at 98%.

· Brewing & Brands total volumes up 8%; revenue up 5%.

· Strong growth of 10.0% in adjusted earnings per share.

· Strong margins and cash generation support total dividend growth of 7%.

· Current trading strong; Retail like-for-like sales up 7% in the last eight weeks.

Greene King unveils record results
StockMarketWire.com
Pub retailer and brewer Greene King unveils record full-year results with pre-tax profits 8.6% up on last time.

Total revenues for the 52 weeks to 29 April rose by 9.4% to £1,140.4m with operating profits up 6.4% at £236.2 and pre-tax profits rising to £152.0m,

Statutory pre-tax profits were up 7/1% at £125.1m.

Retail like-for-like sales grew by 4% while food sales increased by 17%.

Chief executive Rooney Anand said: "Our team has once again delivered record results and attractive returns to our shareholders in a difficult environment.

"We have achieved strong growth and made further strategic progress.

"All our businesses are building customer loyalty by delivering industry-leading value, service and quality as we strive to be Britain's best pubs and beer business.

"We are in the middle of an exciting summer for Britain, despite the unpredictable weather, with the Diamond Jubilee, Euro 2012 and with the Olympics still to come.

"However, looking further ahead, our customers' spending will continue to be squeezed and concerns remain about job security.

"Our strategy is tailored for these difficult conditions as we focus on providing 'everyday treats' to our customers and delivering sustainable growth in earnings and dividends for our shareholders."

Had these for a few years, good divi and capital growth so far. Looking at exiting these between 600p and 650p around longer term resistance. Anyone else in these? Would appreciate any views on whether to sell, hold or increase holdings. Thanks H

I am in here- had them in my ISA for a year or so on income grounds and see them as a strong hold at least. They seem a well managed firm which performs.

Greene King investors should stop filling glasses after strong rally
It's time for investors in pub group Greene King to stop filling their glasses, according to Liberum Capital analyst Patrick Coffey, who called last orders on his stock recommendation and cut the company to “hold” from “buy”.


http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/marketreport/9439442/Greene-King-investors-should-stop-filling-glasses-after-strong-rally.html

Though coming up for divi (18.1p) on wed 8th Aug '12.

http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=4421168

sp down 5.5%

Around 3 percent of that due to ex dividend. I guess going ex was an excuse to take some profits. I am holding on hoping it to cover the ex div amount over the next week or so, but don't think there is a lot more to go, so will sell around 600p. H

Greene King shrugs off the bad weather blues
StockMarketWire.com
Brewer and pub operator Greene King said its Retail business enjoyed a 5.1% rise in like-for-like in the 18 weeks to 2nd September, despite the poor weather this summer.

The Olympics had a minimal net impact on the overall Retail performance. In London, the City and the West End were generally quiet while in the suburbs, including Realpubs and Capital Pub Company sites, trading was noticeably stronger.

The group said with Value, Service and Quality at the heart of its Retail trading strategy, it has achieved LFL food sales growth of 5.2%, LFL drink sales growth of 5.0% and LFL room sales growth of 4.9%.

In Pub Partners, after 16 weeks, average EBITDA per pub was up 3.5%, while LFL EBITDA in the core estate was down 0.5%.

After 18 weeks, Brewing & Brands core brand volume was -0.9%. Both Old Speckled Hen and Greene King IPA, following its relaunch in April, have achieved good volume growth. Total beer volume was up 0.4%.

Overall, margins, profit, cashflow and balance sheet remain in line with our expectations.

The group said it believes underlying trading trends across the business have been maintained through the summer, despite the disappointing weather. This is encouraging for the rest of the year, although it expects consumer confidence to remain subdued.

Greene King remains confident that its Retail growth strategy will continue to deliver earnings and dividend growth for our shareholders.

Going down rather well.

Sold my gk holding this aft.

Near 4 year highs @625.50p

Interims tomorrow, If good news hope to see it push MARS further higher.

Half Yearly Report

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS

· Retail like-for-like sales up 4.3%; total Retail sales up 10.9%.

· Retail profit up 17.4%; margin increased 120 basis points to 20.4%.

· Average EBITDA per pub up 3.9% in Pub Partners.

· Brewing & Brands revenue up 2.2%; market share up 50 basis points to 9.9%.

· Strong earnings & dividend growth; cashflow & balance sheet strengthened.

· Further improvement in group ROCE; up 20 basis points to 8.7%.

· Current trading resilient; Retail like-for-like sales up 2.2% in the last six weeks.

STRATEGIC PROGRESS

· Further retail expansion; additional 20 sites acquired or transferred from Pub Partners.

· Pub Partners estate down by 58 sites; influencing the offer in 26% of the estate.

· Brand investment maintained despite cost challenges in Brewing & Brands.

* before exceptional items

Ex-divi next wed 19th Dec (7.15p)

Interim Management Statement

Greene King announces its Interim Management Statement for the 36 weeks to 06 January 2013.

· Retail like-for-like (LFL) sales up 3.7% and food LFL sales up 4.1%
· Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners up 4.2%
· Greene King IPA and Old Speckled Hen ahead of last year

Rooney Anand, chief executive, said: "Our strong momentum has been maintained over the last six weeks. We achieved record sales through Christmas and the New Year as our teams once again delivered excellent value, service and quality to our customers.

Pubs continue to play a vital role for customers, families and communities across the UK during the festive period, especially in this difficult financial environment. We once again achieved record Christmas bookings and strong like-for-like sales growth across Christmas and the New Year. We achieved record Christmas Day sales of £2.7m, up 6.8%, and during the whole of December, we sold 448,000 Christmas meals, another record for Greene King."

HSBC Overweight 691.00 667.50 620.00 750.00 Upgrades

Thanks Skinny for the post, this is my best performing share so pleased to see the upgrades.

Yes they are going well!

My main play in the sector is MARS, which may have peaked recently.

Own that too Skinny, looking good for them both.

Quietly making 5 year highs today.

N+1 Singer Buy 731.75 720.50 - 760.00 Initiates/Starts

Trading Statement

Greene King announces its pre-close trading update for the 51 weeks to 21 April 2013. Its preliminary results for the 52 weeks to 28 April 2013 will be announced on 27 June 2013.

· Retail like-for-like (LFL) sales up 2.2%
· Food LFL sales up 2.7% and room LFL sales up 3.1%
· Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners up 4.6% after 48 weeks
· Core brand own-brewed volumes up 0.8%
· Expect to meet market expectations for the full year

Continuing to make new highs since the T/S.

Cheers Skinny bought them.

yOU LIKE YOUR ALE FIRMS YOU.

Are you into REAL ALE?????

Yes - but not fanatical these days.

Interesting, my brothers a massive fan.

Must admit like going around with him at weekends to new joints.

Mind all tastes same to me.Think its cos I have hayfever, cant taste as normal.

Bought in again.

Could be a good run on the cards.

Pubs in general seem to be doing well at the moment.

14 Jun 13 JP Morgan Cazenove Overweight 767.50 740.00 740.00 Reiterates

07 Jun 13 Deutsche Bank Buy 767.50 750.00 750.00 Reiterates

Preliminary results

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
· Retail like-for-like sales up 2.3%; total Retail sales up 7.4%.

· Retail operating profit up 12.1%; margin increased 80 basis points to 19.4%.

· Average EBITDA per pub up 4.2% in Pub Partners; core like-for-like EBITDA up 0.1%.

· Brewing & Brands core own-brewed volume up 1.0%; revenue up 2.1%.

· Strong cash flow; earnings & dividend growth.

· Further improvement in ROCE, up 40 basis points to 8.9%.

· Current trading strong; Retail like-for-like sales up 3.3%.

STRATEGIC PROGRESS
· Estate plan on track; 38 high quality retail sites added, 108 non-core disposals.

· Balance sheet strengthened; net debt to EBITDA 4.7x, fixed charge cover 2.7x.

· Lower pension funding post triennial review; refinanced & bought back bonds before step-up.

* before exceptional items

HSBC Overweight 878.75 873.00 750.00 960.00 Reiterates

Interim Management Statement

CURRENT TRADING
Like-for-like (LFL) sales in our largest business, Retail, are up 4.6% after 18 weeks, with the difficult comparatives of the Jubilee and the European football last year offset by the better summer weather. Food continues to improve its share of our business, with LFL sales up 5.7%, while LFL accommodation sales are up 6.0%, helped by an increase in customers taking their holidays in the UK. LFL drink sales are up 3.7%. Regionally, we have again seen our strongest growth in the South East of England.

Our retail expansion has made further progress, with the retail estate reaching 1,000 sites when the latest Hungry Horse, the Walls End in North Tyneside, opened on 28 August.

In Pub Partners, average EBITDA per pub was up 5.8% after 16 weeks, while LFL EBITDA was up 2.7%.

Brewing & Brands core brand volume was up 2.7% after 18 weeks, led by Old Speckled Hen, the UK's no.1 premium ale brand, with growth of 7.9%. Total beer volume was up 1.5%.

Our balance sheet and cash generation remain strong and in line with our expectations.
OUTLOOK
There appear to be cautious signs of optimism in terms of recent UK macro-economic improvements. In turn, we are seeing indications of growing consumer confidence, which is reflected in our strong start to the financial year. This performance has been helped by some one-off factors including the feel-good factor from continued British sporting success and the arrival of the Royal Baby, combined with much improved weather over the summer months.

While the pace of the recovery remains uncertain, we believe that our strategy, tailored for the prevailing conditions, will continue to deliver improving returns, sustained earnings growth and attractive dividends for our shareholders. We look forward to another successful year.

Interim Results

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
· Retail like-for-like sales up 3.5%; Retail margin increased ten basis points to 20.5%.

· Average EBITDA per pub up 5.2% in Pub Partners; core like-for-like EBITDA up 1.7%.

· Brewing & Brands core own-brewed volume up 1.7%.

· Strong cash flow; earnings & dividend growth.

· Further improvement in ROCE, up ten basis points since the year-end to 9.0%.

· Current trading strong; Retail like-for-like sales up 3.5% after 30 weeks.

STRATEGIC PROGRESS
· Strong growth from key sales categories; food now 41% of Retail sales.

· 1,008 Retail sites with 22 added; targeting further 90 sites over next 18 months.

· 59 disposals in Pub Partners; trading estate now 1,218 sites, down 28% from peak.

· Further balance sheet strengthening; net debt to EBITDA has fallen to 4.6x.

PRE-CLOSE TRADING UPDATE

CONTINUED STRONG TRADING MOMENTUM

Greene King announces its pre-close trading update for the 52 weeks to 27 April 2014. Its preliminary results for the 53 weeks to 04 May 2014 will be announced on 03 July 2014.

Highlights include: -

· Retail like-for-like (LFL) sales up 4.1% and up 4.8% in the last 16 weeks
· 22nd consecutive quarter of LFL sales growth
· Food LFL sales up 5.0% and room LFL sales up 6.8%
· Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners up 5.0%
· Core brand own-brewed volumes (OBV) up 4.6%
· Expect to meet market expectations for the full year

Rooney Anand, chief executive officer, said:

"We have achieved consistently strong trading in each of our businesses through the year. This reflects the strengths of our business and the success of our strategy to move to higher growth areas in our markets and to improve the customer offer. We expect to meet the market's full year expectations for profit, cashflow and the balance sheet, with further improvement in our ROCE and a further reduction in leverage.

"Looking ahead, we see the UK's economic outlook improving. Throughout the downturn wage growth lagged inflation but this quarter has seen that change for the first time since the recession began, which bodes well for the future. Customers, though, are still spending carefully, as highlighted by our most recent Leisure Spend Tracker report*. Hence we remain cautiously optimistic for the forthcoming financial year."

OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS

On the back of our continued commitment to delivering great value, service and quality to our customers, we have achieved another year of strong LFL sales growth in Retail. LFL sales were up 4.1%, with 4.8% growth in the last 16 weeks. This was the 22nd consecutive quarter of LFL sales growth. Food LFL sales were up 5.0%, room LFL sales were up 6.8% and drink LFL sales were up 3.2%. During the last 16 weeks, we saw good growth on key events such as Valentine's Day, Mother's Day and Easter. On Mother's Day, we served a single day record of 262,000 food covers with LFL sales growth of 17.1%. Farmhouse Inns performed particularly well with average sales per site of £14.4k and three sites delivering over £16k.

We expect the Retail margin to be slightly ahead of last year.

Our Retail expansion programme remains on track. We expect to have added 45 new Retail sites by the year-end, taking Retail to 1,032 sites, with Hungry Horse reaching 232 sites by the year-end.

Average EBITDA per pub in Pub Partners was up 5.0%. Our strategy to reduce the size and improve the quality of the Pub Partners' estate continues and we expect to end this financial year with 1,164 sites, 149 less than last year, after 134 disposals and 15 transfers to Retail.

Brewing & Brands has again improved its market share, achieving core OBV growth of 4.6% against a UK ale market down 2.3%**. Our continued strong performance was driven by Old Speckled Hen, the UK's leading premium ale brand, which recorded growth of 12.5%.

*GK Leisure Spend Tracker March 2014
**BBPA, 12 months to March 2014

DISPOSAL OF 275 NON-CORE ASSETS

Greene King plc announces that it has agreed the sale of 275 non-core tenanted and leased pubs to Hawthorn Leisure Limited, backed by Avenue Capital Group and May Capital LLP, for a total consideration of £75.6m.

These pubs, located across the UK, generated EBITDA in the last year of £12.4m, implying a disposal multiple of 6.1x. The book value of these pubs was £93.8m and we expect to complete the deal by early June.

Greene King and Hawthorn Leisure have also agreed a three-year beer supply deal for these pubs, securing continued and valuable nationwide distribution for our industry-leading ale brand portfolio.

This transaction is consistent with our stated strategic direction and delivers three important benefits: -

1. Increases the company's exposure to the faster-growing Retail sector;
2. Further improves the quality and outlook of Pub Partners' earnings;
3. Further strengthens the balance sheet providing an opportunity to selectively accelerate retail investment and expansion

Deutsche Bank Buy 890.50 890.50 - 1,045.00 Reiterates

Preliminary Results

PERFORMANCE HIGHLIGHTS
· Retail like-for-like sales up 4.1%; food like-for-like sales up 5.0%.

· Average EBITDA per pub up 5.2% in Pub Partners; core like-for-like net income up 2.2%.

· Brewing & Brands core own-brewed volume up 4.6%; profit up 1.3%.

· Strong cash flow, lower leverage, earnings & dividend growth.

· Return on capital employed up 30 basis points to 9.2%.

· Continued progress across all businesses in first eight weeks of new financial year.

STRATEGIC PROGRESS
· Portfolio reshaping better positions Greene King for growth and higher returns.

o Added 45 sites to Retail, taking estate to 1,032; Hungry Horse now 226 sites.

o 148 disposals or transfers from Pub Partners; sold 275 site package post year-end.

· Volume share of UK ale market up 70 basis points to 11.3%.

· Evolving strategy to accelerate Retail exposure and move beyond conventional pub offers.

*before exceptional items **F13 restated for impact of IAS 19 (revised 2011), see note 11 of preliminary financial statements

Ex-divi wed 13th Aug 2014 (20.8p)

Interim Management Statement

CURRENT TRADING

Like-for-like (LFL) sales in Retail were up 0.4% in the first 18 weeks of the year, with tough comparatives from the excellent summer last year compounded by a disappointing World Cup this year.

It is also evident that while the UK economy continues to strengthen, customers remain cautious and are spending very carefully. In response to this, we have protected Retail profitability by being careful not to over-invest in tactical, short-term sales building initiatives.

Within Retail, our accommodation business performed well and we saw particularly strong trading at Metropolitan, our premium London pubs, and Farmhouse Inns, our carvery restaurants.

Our Retail expansion programme continued with a net additional five sites opened in the year-to-date, taking the total estate to 1,037 sites, with a healthy pipeline of potential new sites in place. New sites this year are expected to be significantly weighted towards the second half of the year.

Our other businesses also traded well: Pub Partners total LFL net income was up 3.7% after 16 weeks, while in Brewing & Brands, own-brewed volume was up 6.2% after 18 weeks, driven by strong growth from Old Speckled Hen, the UK's no.1 premium ale brand.

Our balance sheet and cash generation remain strong and in line with our expectations.

OUTLOOK

We anticipate that Retail LFL sales will improve as the year progresses and that the momentum in Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands will continue.

More broadly, we remain focused on our strategy of delivering long-term growth and returns to our shareholders through expanding our retail estate, increasing our exposure to the eating out market and driving the best value, service and quality for our customers.

Overall, we look forward to another year of continued progress across the business.

Interim Results

HIGHLIGHTS
· Record sales; retained business growth of 5.3%.

· Retail like-for-like sales +0.8%; Pub Partners like-for-like net income +3.7%; Brewing & Brands own-brewed volume +5.9%.

· Retained business adjusted earnings per share growth of 5.3% with strong cash flow, lower leverage & dividend growth.

· Return on capital employed up 20 basis points on first half last year to 9.2%.

· Further strategic progress:

o Added 11 sites to Retail, taking estate to 1,040.

o Pub Partners estate now 864 sites; average EBITDA per site up 13.8%.

· Recommended proposal to acquire Spirit Pub Company, post period-end.

· After 30 weeks, Retail LFL sales were +0.8% and +1.5% last 12 weeks.

· Bookings for Christmas across Retail are +7.2%.

Interim Management Statement

Greene King announces its trading update for the 36 weeks to 11 January 2015.

· Retail like-for-like (LFL) sales up 2.0% over Christmas & the New Year and 0.6% year-to-date.
· Retail LFL sales in line with last year in the last six weeks despite tough comparatives.
· Pub Partners LFL net income up 2.8% & Brewing & Brands own-brewed volume (OBV) growth up 5.2%.

Rooney Anand, chief executive officer, said:

"Sales were encouraging in our retail business over the important two weeks covering Christmas and the New Year, despite a very tough comparative from last year and softer trading in Scotland, following the introduction of tougher drink-driving laws. Outside of those weeks, trading was more volatile, with the weeks before Christmas slightly down on the previous year and soft trading since the New Year.

This performance was delivered in a continued challenging environment, as highlighted by the most recent Greene King Leisure Tracker, which reported an 8% year-on-year fall in household leisure spending in November.

We are delighted that last week Greene King and Spirit Pub Company shareholders overwhelmingly voted in favour of the proposed transaction between our two companies. This will create the UK's leading managed pub company and deliver significant shareholder value through material synergy generation and anticipated earnings accretion. The exact timing of the completion of the deal remains uncertain but we are working closely with the Competition and Markets Authority and expect the deal to complete by the end of the first half of 2015."

TRADING

Total sales in Greene King Retail were up 5.9% after 36 weeks, with LFL sales growth of 0.6%. LFL sales in the last six weeks were in line with last year, against growth of 5.0% in the same period last year, and slower trading in Scotland due to a combination of the new drink-driving laws and poorer weather. Excluding Scotland, Retail LFL sales were up 0.6% in the last six weeks. Retail LFL sales in the two weeks over Christmas and the New Year were up 2.0% against growth of 6.4% in the same period last year.

We received a record 780,000 Christmas bookings, up 7.0%, with LFL growth of 3.5%. As a consequence, we achieved record Retail sales of £3.4m on Christmas Day, including a record single site trading day of £15.5k at our Farmhouse Inn in Castleford. We also saw sales of Prosecco grow 78% over the two key weeks of the period, indicating that value remains a key consideration for customers.

Our best performing brands over the last six weeks were Metropolitan, reflecting the ongoing strength of the London market, and our more food-led brands including Farmhouse Inns.

After 36 weeks, LFL net income at Pub Partners was up 2.8%. All the key licensee health measures remain strong and anecdotal evidence from licensees has been positive regarding festive trading, particularly around food sales.

Brewing & Brands own-brewed volume was up 5.2% after 36 weeks with growth of 3.7% over the last six weeks. Growth continues to be driven by our take home and export channels, and by Old Speckled Hen, the UK's leading premium ale brand.

TRADING STATEMENT

At its AGM today, Greene King will make the following trading statement for the 18 weeks to 6 September 2015.

CURRENT TRADING

In the first 18 weeks of the year, like-for-like (LFL) sales in Greene King Retail grew by 1.3% with growth of 1.9% in the last ten weeks. All major sales categories are in LFL sales growth.

Excluding the continued impact of drink-driving regulations in Scotland, LFL sales were up 1.8% in the first 18 weeks, and up 2.4% in the last ten weeks.

LFL sales in the Spirit managed estate grew by 0.8% over the last 18 weeks.

In our Pub Partners business, LFL net income was up by 2.0% after 16 weeks, while it was up 1.1% in the Spirit leased estate. Brewing & Brands own-brewed volume grew 1.7% in the first 18 weeks of the year with good growth seen from Old Speckled Hen, Greene King IPA and Abbot Ale, despite strong Take Home comparatives due to the World Cup last year.

SPIRIT UPDATE

Although it is still early in the process, the integration of Spirit is going well and we remain confident of generating at least £30m of cost synergies. On 28 August 2015, we exchanged contracts on all 16 of the pubs that we were required to sell by the Competition and Markets Authority and we expect completion in early October 2015.

We will provide a further update on the integration at our interim results on 2 December 2015.

Not sure why this has been hit so hard recently. On my watch list as a reasonable divi payer.

StockMarketWire.com
Greene King reports a strong first half with revenue and profit growth across all divisions.

Revenue from the existing Greene King business was up 5.4% to £648.4m and the total increased by 49.2% to £917.7m, including a 17 week contribution from Spirit.

Operating profit before exceptional items grew 4.1% in the existing Greene King estate and 46.1% to £180.2m when including Spirit and synergies realised to date. Overall, profit before tax and exceptional items grew 46.9% to £121.3m and adjusted earnings per share increased by 15.4% to 34.5p.

Following a period of further progress across the group and reflecting our confidence in future prospects for the company, the board has declared an interim dividend of 8.45p per share, up 6.3% on last year. The interim dividend will be paid on 22 January 2016 to those shareholders on the register at the close of business on 18 December 2015.

The group says: "On 23 June 2015 we completed the acquisition of Spirit Pub Company plc. We have since conducted a thorough and detailed review of the business and the integration process is under way. We are pleased to report that the integration of Spirit is proceeding well and we remain excited by the opportunities for the combined group."

Chief executive Rooney Anand said: "It has been a strong first half, with the Greene King business strengthening and significant progress made in the Spirit integration. Like-for-like sales growth in Greene King Retail improved during the half and both Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands delivered profit growth and margin expansion.

"We completed the acquisition of Spirit Pub Company and, by combining the best of both companies, made good progress in capturing value from the acquisition and creating the UK's leading pub hospitality company.

"We believe we have the best portfolio of retail pub brands, the best pub assets and the most talented team which, when combined with the strong contribution from synergies and the benefits of our enlarged scale, will ensure we continue delivering value to our customers and our shareholders."

Goodbody broker note:
"Greene King reported H116 results this morning with group revenues of £917.7m and PBT of £121.3m, representing 49% and 47% yoy growth respectively. This compares to our expectations for revenues of £893m and PBT of £102.4m. Operating margin was 19.6%, down 50 bps yoy as there was a higher contribution from managed pubs and slightly higher costs. Adjusted basic EPS was 34.5p, +15.4% yoy. The interim dividend was 8.45p, +6.3% yoy.
The Retail division delivered revenues of £740.2m, +59% yoy growth which was primarily driven by the Spirit acquisition. Excluding Spirit, Retail grew revenues by 6.7%. In H1, lfl sales grew by 2% versus our expectations for +1.5%, with lfls in the last 6 weeks of the period up 4.3%, aided by the Rugby World Cup. Spirit retail LFL sales for H1 were +1.2%. In H1, there were 10 new pub openings and 13 pub disposals (including 10 required by CMA). Management noted that since the period end it has seen broadly similar trading patterns across all divisions.
The Pub Partners division reported H1 revenues of £82.1m, +41% yoy growth. In H1, lfl sales grew by 2.4% with Spirit leased pubs +1.4%. Management continued to dispose of leased pubs with 15 disposals (incl. 6 required by CMA). The Brewing and Brands division reported revenues of £95.4m, +4.7% yoy. Own brewed volumes grew 3.6% yoy (including the additional volumes to Spirit pubs). Operating profit came in at £14.5m, +5.1% yoy with management attributing the margin benefit to channel mix and cost efficiencies in H215.
Management noted that the Spirit integration is proceeding well and is ahead of plan. In H1, the tenanted and leased pubs were fully integrated into the group. Management have revised its initial cost synergies target of “at least” £30m up to £35m with £12m in FY16 and also highlighted the potential for additional revenue benefits. Management has stated that it will invest an incremental £40-50m in brands and format optimisation over a 3 year period commencing 2016/17. Greene King’s results for H1 were impressive and we expect to see upward bias to forecasts. In relation to the National Living Wage impact, management stated that it believes that it will be able to mitigate most of the impact focussing on labour scheduling. Management guidance is for incremental cost £2m in FY17 and £6m in FY18. We maintain our positive view and re-iterate our BUY recommendation."

British brewer Greene King on Wednesday said exports of its India pale ale to China had increased sixteen-fold after President Xi Jinping was photographed enjoying a pint during his recent state visit.
The brewer has shipped 50,000 cases of the hoppy beer to China after Xi's visit to The Plough pub in Buckinghamshire, southern England, with Prime Minister David Cameron during October's trip.
"If the British prime minister chooses to drink IPA that's normal, but if the president of China chooses to drink a British beer it attracts lots of interest," Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand said.
"We've had a sixteen-fold increase in orders from China for IPA in the last few weeks and 50,000 cases are on a boat now to arrive in time for Chinese New Year."

Jefferies International today reaffirms its hold investment rating on Greene King PLC (LON:GNK) and raised its price target to 940p (from 840p).

StockMarketWire.com
Greene King reports another strong performance with all divisions trading well during the important festive period, and record trading on Christmas Day.

Combined Retail sales were up 67% in the 40 weeks to 7 February benefiting from a 33 week contribution from Spirit and 6% growth at Greene King.

In the Greene King estate, like-for-like sales were up 2.2%, led by Locals Pubs and hotels, with growth in food, drink and rooms. LFL sales grew by 1.1% in the Spirit Managed business, where the group saw continued strength in Chef & Brewer.

The group achieved record sales of £6.8m on Christmas Day in the combined retail estate which was led by food and included a record pub trading day of £19k at the Farmhouse Inn in Ashton-under-Lyme. Over the Christmas and New Year weeks, Prosecco volumes were up 69% while Premium Gin grew 77%, and at New Year a record 4,447 drinks per minute were sold in the last hour of 2015.

In addition to the ongoing strong growth in the underlying Retail business, teh group opened 10 new sites in its combined retail estate in the year to date.

Chief executive Rooney Anand said: "This was another strong performance, with all divisions trading well during the important festive period, and record trading on Christmas Day. The latest Greene King Leisure Spend Tracker shows that, despite varying their choices when eating out, pubs were a major destination for customers. Our positive trading results are a testament to the hard work and dedication of our teams who gave our guests great experiences, with value, service and quality central to our offer.

"I am pleased to report continued progress with the Spirit integration, including encouraging signs from our rebranded trial sites thus far, and continued progress in terms of synergy delivery. Our focus remains on the development and continuous enhancement of our core Greene King business while successfully integrating Spirit, to create the UK's leading pub company."

StockMarketWire.com
Greene King is confident of delivering another year of strategic and financial progress, shareholders at the annual general meeting today will be told.

Greene King says that in the first 18 weeks of the year, Pub Company delivered like-for-like (LFL) sales growth of 1.7% including a strong start to the year as customers enjoyed the European Football Championships and better weather. Growth was driven by our Local Pubs estate.

In Pub Partners, LFL net income was up 4.5% after 16 weeks, while in Brewing & Brands, own-brewed volume declined 0.5% over the same period. A statement says: "We continued to make strong progress with the integration of Spirit including the delivery of further planned synergies and over a quarter of our managed pubs now operating with the 'best of both' IT system.

"We also completed 41 brand conversions in the year-to-date with encouraging sales uplifts.

"As expected, uncertainty surrounding the UK's future withdrawal from the European Union has translated into a softening of some economic indicators and a reduction in consumer confidence.

"While the broader implications remain unclear, a number of recent industry surveys have flagged risks to leisure spend and we are alert to a potentially tougher trading environment ahead.

"With this in mind, we will continue to focus on delivering great value, service and quality to our customers. Greene King has a track record of success in challenging trading environments and our strong balance sheet and enhanced opportunities following the Spirit acquisition will help limit any potential impact from prolonged uncertainty in the environment."

Greene King also announced the appointment of Gordon Fryett as a non-executive director with effect from 1 December. He will also become a member of the audit, nomination and remuneration committees. He has many years' experience in retail and property matters, having spent his career at Tesco plc, where his roles, prior to his retirement in 2013, included playing a leading role in Tesco's expansion in the UK and overseas, the development and management of the group's property portfolio and CEO of Tesco Ireland.

i thought pretty good results though i admit the forward forecast was not exactly bullish
nevertheless, is the fall of 3.5% this morning really warranted?
indeed, sp is now down to ~800 from even recent levels of ~900 and ~980 at the beginning of the year

Will have a punt if they get to 700p any time soon.

a brief analysis just picked up .....

Shares in this pub operator have not exactly blossomed over the past year, having hit a multi-year high towards the end of 2015. First half earnings are expected on 30 November. The most recent update saw like-for-like sales rise 1.7% for the 18 weeks to 4 September, an improvement over the 1.5% rise for the twelve months to April, and ahead of the broader sector. A brand improvement drive for key restaurants such as Flaming Grill and Hungry Horse should help boost the appeal. Full year earnings are expected to increase by 3% and 4% for the years to April 2017 and 2018 respectively.
At 9.8 time earnings, the shares trade on a relatively undemanding multiple (five-year average being 11.7). A 4.4% dividend yield also boosts the attractiveness of the shares. Some cost inflation from sterling weakness may compress margins, while the ongoing rise in the minimum wage will make itself felt in the sector.

Greene King's out-performance continues.

StockMarketWire.com

Greene King has reported another set of record results following continued market out-performance.

Revenue rose by 6.9% to a record £2,216.5m, and operating profit before exceptional and non-underlying items increased by 4.9% to £411.5m.

Chief executive Rooney Anand said: "Greene King has delivered another set of record results, generating full year EBITDA of over £500m for the first time.

but the market remains tiresomely underwhelmed

Drop over done?

To uncertain to say I would have thought in this sector.

At their current 565p I would agree CD, GNK has a terrific record for eps & dps growth, I'm not in these but have a holding in MARS which has dived on the GNK news, but better luck to all who hold.

Next week I will keep an eye on this one for a buying opportunity.

555p at close.

Like-for-like sales down 1.2% but sp down by 15%. Is this justified?

Like-for-like sales down 1.2% but sp down by 15%. Is this justified?

Still going down.

GNK keep going down and Weatherspoon keeps going up - why?

Weatherspoons operating margins seem far better.

GNK and MARS weaker today may be due to final results at MAB

INTERIM RESULTS FOR THE 24 WEEKS TO 15 OCTOBER 17

Business highlights

· Further outperformance from Local Pubs, Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands in a challenging first half

· Strong cost mitigation: on track to deliver £40-45m of cost savings

· Brand optimisation delivering return on investment over 25%; Fayre & Square to be debranded by year end as part of our plan to reduce our value food exposure

· Spirit refinancing under way: new facility agreed, bond prepayment announced
· Pub Company volume trends improved post period end after £10m investment in value, service and quality

Financial summary

· Pub Company like for like sales -1.4%, Pub Partners LFL net profit +1.5% and Brewing & Brands own-brewed volume +0.3%

· Operating profit before exceptional and non-underlying items1,2 of £188.4m, -7.5% below last year

· Strong cash flow and balance sheet supporting attractive and sustainable dividend; dividend per share maintained at 8.8p

· 4.2x net debt to EBITDA1,2; fixed charge cover 2.3x; securitisation headroom in excess of 30%

· Group return on capital employed2 of 9.0%, well ahead of weighted average cost of capital

more.....

Peel Hunt Add 513.00 625.00 600.00 Reiterates

Shore Capital Buy 513.00 - - Retains

Liberum Capital Buy 513.00 720.00 720.00 Reiterates

i'm afraid this is a stinker as the chart shows

CC Send an email to CC View CC's profile - 26 Mar 2018 11:47 - 7 of 10 edit this post
Hi,

What do you guys use to do long term research into specific companies?

i'm interesting in GNK. I can get all the financial metrics from various places, broker targets from EQ and some of the market expectation figures from FT and 4Traders.

However, what I'm really looking for is a investment analysis piece. I ask because the share price I consider excessively bashed up. I understand anything retail is out of favour, impact of minimum wage etc. and rising interest rates on EBITDA, but what I'd really like to read is a balanced piece.

I'm prepared to spend a couple of hours reading the accounts, trawling the internet and getting my information that way but if I could find a summary of what someone had already done that would be great.
Chris Carson Send an email to Chris Carson View Chris Carson's profile - 26 Mar 2018 13:03 - 8 of 10
Not sure if this is what your looking for CC. Google Phil Oakley Article on Greene King (Third one down) How to do a SOTP valuation.
CC Send an email to CC View CC's profile - 26 Mar 2018 13:44 - 9 of 10 edit this post
Thanks Chris.

What I'm looking for is more a rationale for the existing share price and why isn't being shorted continually.

When that article was written in 2005 it shows an EBIT of £256m and implied P/E of around 14. The share price was 795p then and Phil Oakley suggested fair value as 788p so recommendation of do nothing.

Since then If I believe the figures from 4Traders the forecast EBIT for 2018 is £378m, a P/E of 8 as well a 7% yield.

I'm trying to get into the heads of those that are shorting to understand the detail. All I can see is that the gearing is high, the sector is out of favour and (rumours) others are taking market share off GNK. I have already bought a small amount of MARS which is fairing far better. I found an interview with the CEO helpful and the accounts showed some efforts to diversify.

GNK I find nothing to interest me other than a battered up share price which seems to be covered in more batter than would be reasonable imho.
CC Send an email to CC View CC's profile - 26 Mar 2018 13:49 - 10 of 10 edit this post
Perhaps I can phrase it another way. I made alot of money over the last 18 months on ALD and SHAW because I was comfortable I understood why the share price was bashed up and that the rationale behind it was wrong.

I'm trying to do the same thing here.

From 16th March :-

Morgan Stanley gives Greene King the 'Greene light'

Key financial information

Down another 2.3% today. Deutsche seem to be selling some shares

Still not sure what to do with GNK. Snow and cold weather will not have helped sales.

If we don't go to World Cup in Russia impact could be considerable.


I have researched some more and shortracker shows the shorts really piling it on. In particular Marshall Wallace are added to their short in volume. They have made some good calls recently and this leads me to be wary.

This is also interested. GNK in blue, MARS in red.


Short position GNK 10.5%, MARS 3.4%. Both are rising but GNK rising much faster.

Against the index...

Love the company. Market does not.

Still waiting to buy in.

Looking back Pubs went south long before the last recession 2007/ 2008

They are a good signal to where we are heading.

Let the hedgefunds have their day on this one.

They are probably correct for now.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2018/03/31/questor-solid-foundations-mean-soon-call-time-pub-firm-greene/

Questor has followed Greene King closely, recommending in December for readers to sell the shares.

Since then, they have declined 11pc and at this level are worth another look. Pub landlords and restaurateurs face a tough few years ahead but trading on eight times next year’s forecast earnings, it is too early to call time on this particular operator. Buy.


I'm still on the sidelines but mostly because I bought LLOY, STAN and SBRE in preference. I do have some Marstons so no desire to rush in. Waiting for a stupidly low price I guess

I bought MARS in 2011 @93.47p and sold half @164.28 in 2013 - I may well buy them again if they drop much further.

Green day :)

Good to see the shorters having some pain on this. I didn't buy in the end although I made a few quid off MARS a couple of days ago intra-day.

I continue to hold MARS and look forward to shorters suffering more pain on some of their reckless shorts.

Which gap first?

Not sure what you mean Skinny but GNK is off my radar now since it's risen 25% or so.

Me too CC, so I hope its the second gap.

Final Results

HIGHLIGHTS2

Successful customer investment and cost mitigation programmes

· Pub Company like-for-like (LFL) sales -1.2% excluding the impact of snow, up 20 bps since the half year; improved customer service scores

· Driven by investment in value, service and quality (VSQ) and good Christmas / Easter trading

· £44m cost savings delivered through mitigation programme and Spirit synergies

· Brand optimisation programme delivered 25% ROI; Fayre & Square fully debranded

· Pub Partners LFL net profit +0.4%; Brewing & Brands revenue +7.4%

Resilient financial metrics

· Strong cash generation; £89.9m post core capex & dividends, more than covers debt amortisation

· Net debt to EBITDA1,2 4.2x

· Well invested and located pub estate; 82% freehold or long leasehold

· Dividend per share3 of 33.2p; long-term track record of attractive, sustainable dividend

Strategic priorities to continue driving momentum

· Improve underlying sales growth in Pub Company

· Develop a more efficient and effective organisation

· Further strengthen the capital structure

Current trading and outlook

· Pub Company LFL sales +2.2% over the last eight weeks, aided by good weather and sporting fixtures; Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands trading in line with expectations

· Strong World Cup trading; 59% of consumers expect to watch an England game at the pub

· Expect £45-50m cost inflation; £30-35m cost savings and targeting Pub Company LFL growth

Rooney Anand, chief executive officer

"We made good progress improving the performance of the business during the second half of the year, despite a challenging trading environment. Our investment to improve the customer experience in our pubs and the focus on our strategic priorities are beginning to pay off. Positive momentum, both in terms of trading and customer satisfaction, is returning to our business.

"While it is still early days, this positive momentum has continued into the new financial year, aided by good weather and popular sporting events. We remain focused on continuing to drive top line growth, developing a more efficient organisation and further strengthening our capital structure to deliver long-term value creation for our shareholders.

"We expect the trading environment to remain challenging for some time, but we strongly believe people will continue to choose the great British pub as the place to enjoy time with friends and family."

Peel Hunt Add 602.70 700.00 - Reiterates

Shore Capital Buy 632.90 - - Retains

Finished down 9% on the day!

It has run out of gas.

StockMarketWire.com
Pub group Greene King said Friday a prolonged spell of sunny weather and the World Cup had kept the booze flowing at its Pub Company driving above-market sales growth during the summer period.

For the 18 weeks to 2 September, Pub Company's like-for-like sales rose 2.8%, beating a 1.2% rise in the broader market.

Like-for-like net profit fell 0.4% after 16 weeks, impacted by the timing of higher overhead costs, the company said.

Total beer volumes in Brewing & Brands were up 4.0% and own-brewed volumes were up 0.3%.

Greene King branded local pubs delivered like-for-like sales of 5.5%, as 3.7m pints of beer were sold in total during England's seven World Cup matches.

The 'strong' performance was attributed to the weather and a successful World Cup, while investment to further improve the company's value, service and quality also bolstered performance, Greene King said.

The company said its cost cutting programme was on track to help offset gross cost inflation of about £45m to £50m as it eyed further sales of at least 100 pubs this year, with nine new pubs slated to open. 'We continue to focus on profitably driving top line growth, developing a more streamlined and efficient organisation and further strengthening our capital structure to deliver long-term value creation for our shareholders,' the company said.

Directorate Change

Peel Hunt Buy 499.20 700.00 Reiterates

Liberum Capital Buy 499.20 670.00 Reiterates

A mention here.

Half-year Report

Continued LFL sales momentum in Pub Company

· Pub Company like-for-like (LFL) sales up 2.7%, ahead of the market4 up 1.1%

· Driven by the ongoing benefits from our investment in value, service and quality (VSQ), our strategic focus on four core brands, and boosted by good weather and the World Cup

· Pub Partners LFL net income up; Brewing & Brands revenue up 7.5%

Consistent cash generation, disciplined capital allocation & attractive property valuation

· Operating cash generated5 covers scheduled debt repayment, core capex and dividends

· Further steps taken to refinance Spirit debenture, reducing cost and increasing flexibility of our debt; to date annualised cash interest saving c.£13m and net present value benefit c.£45m

· Interim dividend maintained at 8.8p per share; dividend cover5 of 1.9x

· Estate optimisation; tail disposal proceeds fund new builds, helping to grow average weekly take in Pub Company by 7.9% over the last three years

· Pub estate valuation supports maintained leverage; market value of £4.5bn

Current trading and outlook

· LFL sales in Pub Company were up 2.9% at week 30; Pub Partners and Brewing & Brands performing in line with expectations

· Christmas bookings well ahead of last year

· Remain on track to limit full year net cost inflation to £10-20m

Rooney Anand, chief executive officer

"We have seen continued positive momentum in Pub Company, which was sustained beyond the boost of the World Cup and the summer weather. The hard work of our teams, combined with the investments we made to improve our customer experience, is driving sales outperformance to the market. We remain highly cash generative, meeting our debt repayment requirements, investing in our pubs and paying an attractive, sustainable dividend out of operating free cashflow. Good progress was made refinancing the Spirit debenture, which will reduce the cost of our debt and increase the strength and flexibility of our balance sheet.

"Looking forward, Christmas bookings are up on last year and we look forward to ensuring customers have a great time celebrating the festive season in our pubs. Ongoing uncertainty around Brexit may impact on consumer confidence, but as a team we are focused on our key strategic priorities and remain confident of our outlook for the financial year."

Liberum Capital Buy 540.60 670.00 Reiterates

Shore Capital Buy 540.60 Retains

CHRISTMAS TRADING UPDATE

Trading statement for the 36 weeks to 6th January 2019

After 36 weeks of our financial year, Pub Company like-for-like (LFL) sales were up 3.2% following strong trading over the Christmas period as we continue to trade ahead of the market1. LFL sales in the last two weeks, covering Christmas and the New Year, were up 10.9% and we achieved record Christmas day sales of £7.7m. All sales categories saw LFL sales growth over the last six weeks with our Greene King branded Local Pubs driving strong drink sales growth. Last year's additional investment in Value, Service and Quality continues to underpin our performance.

Pub Partners LFL net profit was down approximately 1% while total beer volumes in Brewing & Brands were up 1.8% and own-brewed volumes were down 2.3%.

Our cost mitigation programme is on track to limit net cost inflation to £10-20m in the year while we made further progress on our estate optimisation programme, remaining on course to dispose of 100-110 pubs and open around nine new pubs in the financial year.

Following the announcement in December of an open tender process on the remaining Spirit bonds, as part of our ongoing debt refinancing programme, we have bought back £62m of the Spirit A5 bonds to date.

While the ongoing uncertainty around Brexit may still have an impact on consumer confidence and spending during the year, we remain confident of our outlook for the financial year. We remain focused on our strategic priorities of driving profitable sales growth, developing a more streamlined and efficient organisation, and further strengthening and improving the flexibility of our capital structure to deliver long-term value for our shareholders.

1. Coffer Peach Business Tracker

Their Ale is terrible these days in some of their big pubs.

you'ld be amazed at the wide range of brews owned by GK - eg brakspear which was brewed in henley for centuries but now in bury st edmunds

apparently GK can replicate the local henley water exactly, and thus make it the same

the GK museum is well worth a visit if you're in the area

apparently GK can replicate the local henley water exactly, and thus make it the same

I doubt that very much.

what i say is true - promise
i won't bore you with the story about brakspear's amusing as it was, but that was the empiric proof
as i said, go to the GK museum

The Brakspear Brewery was indeed a fine one with some fine Ales, unfortunately the price of the property was too much of a temptation to turn down in Henley so they sold out.

But as I say to boast that they can replicate the exact water from the Henley area cannot be true.

well you are categorically wrong, and i speak from knowledge

If I'm wrong then so is the whole of the brewing industry, you cannot produce the same brew quality from different water ask a Brewer of real ale and they will tell you.

groan!
re-read what i wrote and then please bet your house against me

by the way, it's Brakspear

Oh stop arguing and just except the truth.

you are such an arsehole stan

try doing some research into this particular at GK ..... or if you're so certain of your position without so doing, i challenge you to put a large slab of money on the table to match your mouth

Arsehole yourself you established Muppet.

money with mouth please

I don’t enter into agreements with Muppets so I won’t start now.

the following is really interesting so worth posting in full ......

a small correction that Brakspear was bought by Marston and not GK as i thought .....


Many thanks for your enquiry, this question was a common one a few years ago, but hasn’t cropped up for a while. Your timeline is pretty accurate, but for clarity, I’ll confirm the timeline of events first.

Brakspear made the decision to close the brewery around the early 00’s. They were and are rightly incredibly proud of their unique beers and wanted to ensure the quality of consistency of product continued.

In 2004 Brakspear made the decision to move brewing to Wychwood in Witney. Witney was actually the very first location of Brakspear Brewery when founded in 1779 before moving to Henley, so the fit was nice. As part of the move, lots of equipment mainly fermentation vessels, including the unique dropping vessels were moved to Witney. Trials began (with Brakspear yeast) and were overseen by the Head Brewer from Brakspear to ensure consistency and quality of beer. Although there was inevitably and period of time where some drinkers perceived a change, most didn’t and were extremely complimentary about the beer. The Brakspear Head Brewer himself claimed not to be able to notice a difference and is still very complimentary about Brakspear beers to this day.

Marston’s took over Wychwood Brewery in 2008, but they have made absolutely no change to Brakspear Beers. Brakspear beers are all still brewed in Witney, with Brakspear yeast, traditional recipes and with some of the original Brakspear equipment. We continue to brew Brakspear today as we have for the last 15 years and are very proud of the beers indeed.

In direct answer to your question “water, how did (or do) Marston "fake" Henley water so the beer tasted exactly the same”? Truth is, we needed to do very little. Like Henley, Witney is in the Thames Valley and water specifications are extremely comparable. Very small adjustments were made to Calcium Chloride and Calcium Sulphate to bring the water back in line. All breweries adjust their water balance using these additions usually to replicate water from a particular region or to adjust for a particular beer style.

Hope this answers your question.

"a small correction that Brakspear was bought by Marston and not GK as i thought ....."

A small mistake? you can't even get the Pub chain right yet alone anything else... your Muppet credentials laid bare.

you are so immature, it's almost pathetic

You know all about immaturity...you practically invented it.

From yesterday's mail.

Cheers! Pubs will add fizz to your portfolio: Glass is half full but beware the risk of a hangover

Went to a Beer Festival on Friday and of course there were no GK ales on amongst the 76.

Afraid like a lot of these drinks/food Company outfits they seem to have losted there way somewhat.