Operation of hotels, restaurants and coffee shops,Whitbread Group Plc is a UK based hospitality company, managing several popular brands, including Premier Inn, Table Table, Brewers Fayre, Taybarns, Beefeater and Costa Coffee. The company�s headquarters are based in Dunstable, Bedfordshire. The company was founded as a brewery by Samuel Whitbread and Thomas Shewell in 1799 but, after a long history of brewing, the company decided in 2001 to sell all its breweries and brewing interests to Interbrew. Today the group employs over 40,000 people and serves 10 million customers every month in over 2,000 outlets across the UK.

,Final Ex-Dividend Date MAY-2011

Whitbread PLC is the UK's largest hotel and restaurant group operating market-leading businesses in budget hotels, restaurants and coffee shops. Its well-loved brands are Premier Inn, Beefeater, Brewers Fayre, Table Table, Taybarns and Costa.


Whitbread PLC employs over 40,000 people globally and serves over 11 million customers every month in over 2,000 outlets across the UK.


Whitbread has outlined five-year growth milestones (to 2015/16) to increase the number of Premier Inn UK rooms by nearly 50% to at least 65,000, add 80-100 new Restaurants and to nearly double the size of Costa with global system sales of £1.3bn and 3,500 stores worldwide.

Interim Management Statement

STRONG FIRST QUARTER: TOTAL SALES UP 12.7%

Trading highlights for the 13 weeks:

Hotels and Restaurants
· Premier Inn has continued to win market share, growing total sales*2for the 13 weeks by 14.2%, total revpar by 8.8% and total room nights sold by 11.2% to four million. Total occupancy was 80.7%, up 4.2% pts on last year and the number of rooms available increased by 5.5%.

· In a buoyant London market we grew total sales by 10.4% in the quarter with a 7.6% increase in the number of rooms available. Our total revpar grew by 3.6% with occupancy remaining high at 86.1%. For the London hotel market*4 total revpar grew by 3.6% in the quarter, and for the Midscale and Economy*4sector it grew by 8.7%.

· In the UK regions our total sales grew by 15.3% in the quarter, with a 5.2% increase in the number of rooms available. Our total revpar was up 9.9% with occupancy at 80.0%, up 4.9% pts. For the regional hotel market*4 total revpar grew by 9.2%, and by 13.9% for the Midscale and Economy*4sector.

· Restaurants delivered a good performance in the quarter, as well as benefitting from favourable weather comparatives, with like for like sales growth of 4.4% and like for like covers up 2.6%.

· 208 UK rooms were opened in the quarter and for the full year we plan to open around 4,500 UK rooms and five joint site restaurants.

Costa
· Costa grew worldwide system sales by 14.6% to £323.0 million and within this franchise system sales grew by 13.1% to £126.5 million.
· UK Retail system sales grew by 15.2% to £174.4 million, with equity stores delivering like for like sales growth of 4.5%. We opened 36 net new UK stores in the quarter.
· Costa Enterprises (including Costa Express) delivered system sales of £79.5 million, up 18.5%. There are now 3,729 Costa Express units.
· International system sales grew by 9.1% to £69.1 million, with growth of 4.2% in EMEI and 24.0% in Costa Asia.
· We plan to open around 300 net new stores and 600 Costa Express units in the full year.

Group
The strong financial position of the Group remains unchanged. At our full year results in April 2014 we expected capital expenditure of £360 million for 2014/15. Since then we have acquired two additional freehold properties in London and now anticipate capital expenditure to be over £400 million. We continue to see opportunities for further attractive freehold acquisitions.

Trading Statement

Hotels and Restaurants:
· Premier Inn has continued to win market share, growing total sales*2for the 24 weeks by 14.4%, total revpar by 8.7% and the number of rooms available by 5.5%. Total occupancy was 83.6%, up 3.7% pts on last year and total room nights sold increased by 10.4% to 7.7 million.
· In London we grew total sales by 10.6% with a 9.3% increase in the number of rooms available. Our total revpar grew by 1.5% with occupancy at 88.7%. For the London hotel market*5 total revpar grew by 2.6%, and for the Midscale and Economy*5 sector it grew by 7.4%.

· In the UK regions our total sales grew by 15.4%, with a 5.1% increase in the number of rooms available. Our total revpar grew by 10.1% with occupancy at 82.9%, up 4.2% pts. For the regional hotel market*5total revpar grew by 9.8%, and for the Midscale and Economy*5sector it grew by 13.7%.

· Restaurants delivered a good performance, benefiting from favourable weather comparatives, with like for like sales growth of 3.1% and like for like covers up 0.9%.

· 758 UK rooms have been opened in the year to date and for the full year we plan to open around 4,500 new UK rooms and five joint site restaurants.

Costa
· Costa grew worldwide system sales by 15.3% to £602.4 million and, within this, franchise system sales grew by 14.2% to £236.7 million.
· UK Retail system sales grew by 16.4% to £325.4 million, with equity stores delivering like for like sales growth of 5.8%. We have opened 76 net new UK stores in the year to date.
· Costa Enterprises (including Costa Express) delivered system sales of £151.5 million, up 19.1%. There are now 3,915 Costa Express units.
· International system sales grew by 9.3% to £126.8 million, with growth of 4.3% in EMEI and 20.8% in Costa Asia.
· We plan to open around 300 net new stores and 600 Costa Express units in the full year.

Group
The strong financial position of the Group remains unchanged. In the first quarter interim management statement we reported that capital expenditure for this financial year was expected to be over £400 million. Since then we have taken the opportunity, helped by our financial strength, to acquire three further freehold hotel sites in London (Clapham, Sutton and Westminster) and we now expect capital expenditure to be around £500 million.


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Barclays note today:
"The risks associated with Ebola have the potential to be significant, and this alone is enough to mean investors are likely to remain cautious on the space in the short term. As long as Ebola remains a ‘tail risk’, however we continue to regard Whitbread as the most attractive stock in the Leisure sector. We expect H1 results on 21st October to be a positive catalyst as we expect 100bp margin growth for hotels & restaurants along with an upbeat outlook commentary and clarity on the mix of future room openings. In this note we also decrease our price target for Accor to €39 from €40 as we lower our 2015 forecasts reflecting a weaker macro outlook and higher distribution costs. We expect a strong Q3 on 16th October with 4.7% LFL Sales growth but are cautious ahead of the ‘Digital Day’ on 30th October. We continue to like the long-term restructuring potential. We also expect a strong Q3 from IHG that could trigger some small upgrades for 2014 (we increase our 2014 forecasts slightly today).
• Whitbread (OW, PT: 4900p) – Top Pick. We believe consensus FY RevPAR forecasts of c5.5% imply c2.5% H2 RevPAR growth. Comps in H2 are c5.7% tougher than in H1, but we note that within the weekly data we track we have seen the 2-year trend accelerating in recent months (20% in Aug-Sept vs 12.5% in May-June), and should this pace continue it would point to similar y/y RevPAR growth in H2 as we have seen in H1 (ie, c8.7%). Based on our RevPAR tracking we believe Whitbread’s mix of London and the UK regions is currently running at c11% in Q3 to date."

Half Year Results

Financial Highlights

· Total revenue up 13.0% to £1,293.2 million (2013/14: £1,144.7 million)
· Group like for like sales1 up 7.0%
· Underlying profit2 before tax up 18.5% to £256.0 million (2013/14: £216.1 million)
· Underlying basic EPS up 21.5% to 111.69p (2013/14: 91.94p)
· Interim dividend up 15.6% to 25.20p (2013/14: 21.80p)
· Hotels and Restaurants underlying profit2 up 15.0% to £225.0 million (2013/14: £195.7 million)
· Costa underlying profit2 up 20.5% to £52.4 million (2013/14: £43.5 million)
· Premier Inn total sales up 14.7%, like for like sales1 up 9.6% and total revpar up 8.8%
· Costa total sales up 16.9%, worldwide system sales up 15.5% and like for like sales1 up 6.1%
· Group return on capital3 increased to 15.8% (2013/14: 14.4%)
· Strong cash flow with EBITDA4 up 17.1% to £343.1 million (2013/14: £293.0 million)
· Strong balance sheet: net debt £467.2 million (£391.6 million at 27th February 2014)

Statutory Highlights

· Profit after tax and exceptional items up 7.2% to £188.6 million (2013/14: £175.9 million). Last year's profit benefited from an exceptional deferred tax credit of £25.1 million following the decrease in the corporation tax rate
· Total basic EPS 105.43p up 6.1% (2013/14: 99.33p)

Investing for future profit growth

· On track for 2016 and 2018 growth milestones
· Expected capital expenditure of around £500 million this year, growing our hotel pipeline and Costa estate and further improving our customer experience
· Building Premier Inn and Costa international profit growth platforms
· 1,300 new UK jobs created by Whitbread brands, with a further 10,000 expected over the next three years

Trading Statement

Final Results

· Group like for like sales2 growth of 6.5%
· Premier Inn total sales growth of 15.3% and like for like sales up 9.1%
· Costa total sales growth of 17.9%, system sales up 16.6% and UK like for like sales up 6.0%
· Group return on capital3 increased to 15.7% (2013/14: 15.3%)
· Strong cash generated from operations of £714.2 million which funded capital investment4 of £565.3 million
· Strong balance sheet with year end net debt of £583.2 million (2013/14: £391.6 million)

Statutory Highlights
· Profit for the year up 13.2% to £366.1 million (2013/14: £323.4 million)
· Total basic EPS 204.81p up 11.9% (2013/14: 182.98p)

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terrific chart, but confess its not even a share that i considered, even though i rate costa and premier inns very highly

Toying with 2 year lows.

Barclays Capital Equal weight 3,844.00 4,600.00 4,600.00 Retains.

Trading Update

Total sales growth of 10.4%

On track to deliver full year results in line with expectations

Trading highlights:

Hotels and Restaurants
· Premier Inn has continued to win UK market share, growing total sales*2 for the 50 weeks by 11.1%, like for like sales by 4.4%, total revpar by 3.6% and the number of rooms available by 7.6%. Total occupancy remained high, in line with last year, at 81.1% and total room nights sold increased by 7.4% to 17.0 million.

· In the quarter, Premier Inn grew total sales by 7.3%, driven by a 6.9% increase in the number of rooms available, and occupancy increased by 0.3% pts to 71.4%. Like for like sales grew by 2.2%, ahead of our like for like revpar growth of 0.4%, due to our substantial extensions programme.

· Following the trend we highlighted in December, the market has continued to show a divergence in performance in the quarter between the regional and London hotel markets. In the regions Premier Inn grew total sales by 8.3%, with a 6.8% increase in rooms available, including c.2% from extensions. Total and like for like revpar grew by 1.5% and 1.4% respectively. Our regional occupancy remained high compared to the market at 70.6%, up 0.5% pts year on year. Total regional market revpar grew by 3.4% and the Midscale and Economy*3 sector grew total revpar by 4.5%.

· In London, despite a softer hotel market, Premier Inn grew total sales by 3.6% in the quarter, with an 8.0% increase in rooms available. Our total London revpar and occupancy declined, broadly in line with the market, by 3.6% and 1.5% pts respectively albeit our occupancy remained high at 76.1%. Total London market revpar declined by 3.3% and revpar for the Midscale and Economy sector was down 2.2%.

· Restaurants delivered total sales growth of 2.2% and like for like sales growth of 1.0% for the 50 weeks, ahead of our competitor set*4.

Costa

· Costa grew its worldwide total sales by 14.2% and like for like UK sales by 3.0% for the 50 weeks.
· Year to date Costa grew worldwide system sales by 13.1% to £1,516 million (13.4% at constant currency). Within this, franchise system sales grew by 10.6% to £572 million.
· UK Retail system sales, grew by 14.1% to £833 million with equity stores growing like for like sales by 3.0%. We opened 103 net new UK stores.
· Costa Enterprises (including Costa Express UK & International) delivered system sales of £374 million, up 12.6%. Costa Express maintained its success with the installation of a further 921 Costa Express machines*5 taking the total to 5,213.
· International system sales grew by 11.0% to £309 million (12.4% at constant currency). 79 net new stores were opened in the period with 41 in EMEI and 38 in Asia.

Group

This year we shall open around 5,500 new UK Premier Inn rooms, including c.1,500 rooms from extensions, and plan to open a further c.5,000 new UK rooms next year, including c.1,700 rooms from our hotel extensions programme, which will have a c. 1% impact on our like for like revpar. For Costa this year we expect to open c.200 net new stores worldwide and install around 950 Costa Express machines and we plan to open a further c.230 net new stores worldwide and install around 1,000 Costa Express machines next year.

Over the next year, as previously advised, we are planning an additional P&L investment, which we estimate to be c.£15 million. Our capital investment of c.£700 million will remain broadly the same as we continue to drive our organic growth and further improve the quality and consistency of our customer offer. Our strong freehold backing provides us the opportunity to recycle capital and we expect to carry out a sale and lease back transaction during next year. We remain on track to deliver on our growth milestones, which will enable us to create sustainable shareholder value.

Our strong financial position remains unchanged.

just bought into these (3836) as though the figures weren't the greatest, they certainly weren't bad, so i thought 5% drop was excessive ..... and yes, they have dropped tad since, but not remotely concerned as am very happy to hold

after a dull few weeks, this has certainly perked up in the last few days
look at the chart and it will give a cluue as to why it may be worth a dabble ...... 25/50 dma being challenged

Whitbread PLC results for the 53 week financial year to 3 March 2016


· Group total sales growth of 12.0% and like for like sales2 growth of 3.0%
· Premier Inn total sales growth of 12.9% and like for like sales up 4.2%
· Costa total sales growth of 15.9%, system sales up 15.3% and UK like for like sales up 2.9%
· Group return on capital3 of 15.3% (2014/15: 15.7%) includes investments in future hotel openings
· Strong cash generated from operations of £782.2 million which funded capital investment4 of £724.9 million
· Strong balance sheet with year-end net debt of £909.8 million (2014/15: £583.2 million)

Numis Hold 3,969.00 4,000.00 4,000.00 Reiterates

Panmure Gordon Hold 3,969.00 3,800.00 3,800.00 Reiterates

sp has caught fright this morning on the back of RTN's profit warning and thus WTB's own Costa brand
i don't know what proportion Costa contributes to WTB's profits, but the fall is looking overdone
chart shows this to be a good support level - 25/50 dms pretty much coincide - but worth hanging back just for now though perhaps not for long

bugger ..... missed the bottom as went out shopping but just bought a few at 3873 instead of <3860 just b4 i went

The "Trouble" must have stopped going in Costa every week day!!!

looks like a "buy" to me ..... but not sure if i want to find funds to do so

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had a few shillings sitting in my sipp a/c so have bought a few

a small piece of fortune ..... for some reason yesterday's order for my sipp did not register, so have bought 60p cheaper :-)

I am keeping powder dry on this one for a bit longer.

mine is for sipp, so a long term hold anyway

i reckon the company's hotels etc must benefit from weaker £