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Trading Statement

PRE-CLOSE TRADING STATEMENT

J D Wetherspoon plc presents below its pre-close trading statement for the financial year to 29 July 2018. The preliminary results are due to be announced on 14 September 2018.


Current trading

For the 10 weeks to 8 July 2018 like-for-like sales increased by 5.2% and total sales by 5.6%. In the year to date (49 weeks to 8 July 2018) like-for-like sales increased by 5.2% and total sales by 4.2%.



Property

The Company has opened 6 new pubs since the start of the financial year and has completed the sale of 23 pubs. No further openings are expected in the current year.

About £9m of exceptional, non-cash losses are expected in this financial year, mainly a result of pub disposals which were below the value in our balance sheet.

The Company has also spent £15.6m on buying the freehold "reversions" of pubs of which we were previously tenants.



Financial position

The Company remains in a sound financial position. Net debt at the end of this financial year is expected to be about £740m.

The Company spent £51.6m in respect of share buybacks in the first quarter of the year.

As previously reported, the shareholding of Tim Martin has risen above 30%, as a result of share buybacks in the last 12 years. A rule 9 'whitewash', under the relevant regulations, will again be put forward at the General Meeting in November, which will allow the Company to continue to undertake buybacks

Outlook

The chairman of Wetherspoon, Tim Martin, said:

"We are frequently asked about the effect of Brexit on the Company and the economy. The main advantage of Brexit is that the EU is a protectionist system that imposes high tariffs on non-EU imports such as wine, rice, coffee, oranges, children's shoes and clothes, and over 12,000 other products.

"Leaving the EU allows the UK to adopt the approach of countries like Singapore, Hong Kong, Switzerland and Australia by dismantling these tariff walls, which improves general living standards.

"As the retiring Australian High Commissioner, Alexander Downer, has recently said:

"You will do well if you open your markets and you embrace free trade; there was never a country that embraced free trade that was poor as a result."

"In this connection, Wetherspoon has started to review its product range and has exchanged French champagne for sparkling wine from the UK and Australia, and German wheat beer for UK and American alternatives. The new products are now available, at reduced prices, in our pubs.

"We plan further initiatives in this area in the coming months.

"Huge progress has been made in leaving the EU: the referendum has taken place; the manifestos of the main parties, respecting the result, were endorsed in the general election; Article 50 was triggered and the sensible decision was taken to allow legal EU migrants to stay post-Brexit.

"Unsurprisingly, the prime minister has run into difficulties by making the mistake of prioritising a "deal" with the unelected EU representatives, which they have little incentive to accommodate, rather than a sensible implementation of Brexit in areas under the control of parliament.

"99% of the benefits of leaving the EU, including the avoidance of vast financial contributions, the elimination of tariffs and the reacquisition of fishing rights, need no agreement from any third party. The prime minister can avoid most current problems by prioritising these areas.

"I enclose below (Appendix 1) an article I wrote for the Sun newspaper on this issue.

"We continue to anticipate a trading outcome for this financial year in line with our previous expectations."

"As in the current year, we anticipate considerable cost increases next year, in areas including business rates, the sugar tax, utility taxes and wages. In addition, as a result of an increase in our "swaps", our interest rates will rise by around £7m.

Trading statement ends.

Finals http://www.moneyam.com/action/news/showArticle?id=6128081

Missed this earlier :- Q1 Trading Update

J D Wetherspoon plc ('Wetherspoon' or 'the Company') presents below its Q1 trading update for the 13-week period up to 28 October 2018.


Current trading

For the 13 weeks to 28 October 2018, like-for-like sales increased by 5.5% and total sales by 6.2%.

Property

The Company has opened two new pubs since the start of the financial year and has closed or sold three. We intend to open between 5 and 10 pubs in the current financial year.

Financial position

The Company remains in a sound financial position.


Corporate governance and health issues

The chairman of Wetherspoon, Tim Martin said:

"I am currently recovering from an operation after a burst appendix, so intend working part time from home for several weeks. Many thanks to the fantastic doctors, nurses and staff at the Royal Devon and Exeter hospital.

"As most people understand, an experienced board, as at Wetherspoon, can be a great advantage. My recent health scare emphasises this point."

The Company's General Meeting on 15 November 2018 will be chaired by Liz McMeikan, the Company's Senior Independent Director.

Outlook

Tim Martin said:

"I have written a few hundred words below on the advantages of free trade, which greatly outweigh the illusory benefits of a 'deal' with the undemocratic EU. Free trade will benefit consumers and the economy, yet few commentators today make the case for it, or appear to understand it.

"If you can look into the seeds of time, and say which grain will grow and which will not, speak then to me....."

W. Shakespeare.

"For millennia people have been sought advice from soothsayers like the Oracle at Delphi- or today from Mystic Meg.

"In business, the world's greatest investor, Warren Buffett, has warned that "Forecasts tell you a lot about the forecaster, but nothing about the future."

"But some forecasters lack Buffett's humility and insight. Pro-EU economists like David Smith of the Sunday Times or Paul Johnson of the IFS, full of scare stories about a post-Brexit future, are confident in their powers of prophecy.

"In reality, I believe the most consistently INACCURATE forecasts of the last 40 years have been made by pro-EU economists, bankers, academics, MPs, and organisations like the CBI, City accountants and the Financial Times.

"The predecessor of the euro, the exchange rate mechanism (ERM), was supported, almost universally, by these individuals and organisations.

"It was supposed to bring economic stability, but it brought the opposite - record high interest rates, recession, bankruptcies and negative equity.

"After this débâcle, broadly the same voices were evangelical in support of the euro, even though no currency has survived in history, as Wetherspoon pointed out at the time (appendix 1 below), without a government to collect taxes and redistribute them throughout the 'country'.

"It was predicted (appendix 2) that the U.K. would suffer terribly if it failed to join the euro, but the U.K. has since greatly outperformed the Eurozone, which has impoverished much of Southern Europe.

"The pro-EU dogma is the product of an undemocratic ideology, mainly- and surprisingly - promoted by Oxbridge graduates in influential jobs.

"Even so, a minority of Oxbridge nonconformists, including MPs like Michael Howard and Tony Benn, journalists like Neil Collins, bankers like Mervyn King, business people like Simon Wolfson and academics like Patrick Minford played a big role in defeating their Oxbridge colleagues over the euro.

"Pro-EU arguments reached a hysterical zenith during the referendum, with the Chancellor George Osborne, the Treasury, most academics, PWC, Deloitte, most PLC directors, the CBI, the FT, the OECD and the IMF supporting the view of an immediate economic downturn in the aftermath of a Leave vote. Unsurprisingly, the opposite happened.

"About 500,000 jobs have been created since, rather than the loss of 500,000. Mortgage rates have been lower, not higher, the stock market has risen, not fallen, City jobs have increased, not declined-and so on.

"A curious aspect of the hopelessness of these economic forecasts over 40 years is that the "man on the Clapham omnibus" (ie. the public) understood the issues well, rejecting the euro and the arguments about a downturn post-referendum.

"Democracy works, partly because elite education can create arrogance and an 'echo chamber' of groupthink, which inhibits good judgement.

"The dominant theme of the Oxbridge ideology today is that the U.K. will be worse off without a 'deal' with the EU.

"This view has been backed by a dishonest and surreal campaign (appendix 3) to persuade the public that food prices will rise without a deal - the opposite of the truth. Unfortunately, a section of the elite wrongly believes the public is gullible and stupid.

"This 'deal at any price' exhortation has been accepted by, I believe, a weak PM with autocratic tendencies, who dislikes genuine debate, and is locked in a tiny 'echo chamber' of like-minded people (appendix 4).

"In fact, 'no deal' really means 'free trade'. On 29 March next year MPs can end EU import taxes on oranges, coffee, wine, bananas, children's clothes and 12,651 products, thereby reducing shop prices. Many commentators do not understand that the UK can adopt free trade, ending import taxes, without the need for consent or permission from the EU.

"Today, these taxes are collected by the U.K. government and sent to Brussels. So enriching the public comes at no cost to the Treasury.

"The U.K. can simultaneously regain control of fishing waters and save £39 billion which the desperate Theresa May has offered the EU - even though there is no legal obligation to pay anything ("Brexit: UK could quit without paying…say Lords", 4 March 2017, The Guardian).

"Wetherspoon has set an example by swapping EU products like Jägermeister, Courvoisier and German beer for UK or non-EU products of equal or better quality and price. It follows that UK businesses and consumers have the power to reduce EU exports to the UK to zero, or almost zero.

"Everything that can be bought from within the protectionist EU club can be bought from the 93% of the world outside the EU - if you look hard enough.

"In a recent interview the former Chancellor George Osborne told Newsnight that "a minority of people were interested in rather esoteric issues of constitutional sovereignty."

"In fact, the desire for democracy and self-determination is not 'esoteric' (ie. only the concern of a few).

"North America, Japan, Singapore, India, Ireland and Australia, among many examples, have thrived following the end of what they saw as remote or arbitrary rule.

"The former prime minister of Australia, Tony Abbott, showing more economic insight than Osborne, has mocked the UK government approach - and succinctly summed up the arguments for free trade in the Spectator magazine (27 October, appendix 5).

"The economic truth is that no deal/free trade will leave the U.K. better off on the day we leave the EU in March next year. The risk to the future lies in staying linked to the chaotic and undemocratic Brussels regime.

"Boiling all these issues down, there are four simple tests which the public can use on 29 March next year to work out whether Theresa May and MPs have implemented the referendum result, and left the EU, as promised, or whether we have been hoodwinked:

1) Does the UK still charge protectionist import taxes (tariffs) on non-EU imports and send the proceeds to Brussels?

If the answer is "yes", the UK hasn't left the EU.

2) Has the UK paid or is it continuing to pay money to the EU in return for trade?

If "yes", we are unlikely to have left.

3) Has the UK regained control of its fishing waters?

If "no", we haven't left.

4) Is the UK still subject to European laws?

If "yes", we haven't left.

"As regards Wetherspoon, sales continue to grow strongly, although 'comparatives' are now tougher.

"As has been widely reported, unemployment is at a record low, putting upward pressure on wages. As a result, Wetherspoon is increasing pay of our staff starting from this week.

"Having had several recent years of record profits, we are not immediately seeking to recoup these increased costs through higher pricing or 'mitigation', but will review that during the year.

"It is difficult to be too precise at this early stage of the current financial year, but we now expect a trading outcome slightly below that achieved in the previous financial year. We will provide further updates on our trading as we progress through the year."

I wish him well, but a bit too much morphine if you ask me! Just stick to what he knows.

He is just reinforcing what he has written previously in the magazines available in his
"Nuclear's"

Down over 13% on the day.

Q2 Trading Update

J D Wetherspoon plc ('J D Wetherspoon' or 'the Company') announces an update on current trading, before entering its close period for its interim results, for the six months ending 27 January 2019, which are expected to be announced on 15 March 2019.

Current trading

For the first 12 weeks of the second quarter (to 20 January 2019), like-for-like sales increased by 7.2% and total sales by 8.3%. In the year to date (25 weeks to 20 January 2019), like-for-like sales increased by 6.3% and total sales by 7.2%.

Property

Since the start of the financial year, the Company has opened 2 new pubs and sold 6. We intend to open between 5 and 10 pubs in the current financial year.

The Company has spent £56m in the year to date on buying the freeholds of pubs of which we were previously tenants.

Financial position

The Company remains in a sound financial position. Net debt at the end of this financial year is currently expected to be around £10m higher than the level at the last financial year end.

The Company has agreed a new 5 year revolving credit facility of £875 million (previous £820 million) on attractive financial terms. The new facility matures in January 2024.

Outlook

The chairman of J D Wetherspoon, Tim Martin, said:

"The most frequently asked question, regarding the future, relates to the impact of leaving the EU. I have argued that the UK - and therefore Wetherspoon - will benefit from a free-trade approach, by avoiding a 'deal' which involves the payment of £39billion to the EU, for which the House of Lords (appendix 1) has confirmed there is no legal liability.

"This approach also means that the UK, without the agreement of the EU, can end some or all of the protectionist tariffs and quotas that apply on non-EU imports, including rice, oranges, bananas, coffee, wine, children's clothes and over 12,000 other products - many of which are not produced in this country. Ending tariffs reduces prices for consumers, without loss of government income, since the proceeds are currently remitted to Brussels.

"A good example of the EU's protectionism, which is denied by many people, is the recent imposition of tariffs on Cambodian rice, which will inevitably increase prices for businesses and consumers (appendix 2).

"Sales growth has been strong since our last update. Costs, as previously indicated, are considerably higher than the previous year, especially labour, which has increased by about £30m in the period, but also in other areas, including interest, utilities, repairs and depreciation.

"Profit before tax in the first half is expected to be lower than the same period last year. Our expectations for the full year are unchanged."

Appendix 1

Extracted from "Summary" of BREXIT AND THE EU BUDGET (page 3) (House of Lords / European Union Committee - 15th Report of Session 2016-17), 4 March 2017.


"… the strictly legal position of the UK on this issue appears to be strong. Article 50 provides for a 'guillotine' after two years if a withdrawal agreement is not reached unless all Member States, including the UK, agree to extend negotiations. Although there are competing interpretations, we conclude that if agreement is not reached, all EU law-including provisions concerning ongoing financial contributions and machinery for adjudication-will cease to apply, and the UK would be subject to no enforceable obligation to make any financial contribution at all."

Appendix 2

Extract from Reuters, Business News, 16 January 2019

"The European Union will impose tariffs on rice from Cambodia and Myanmar from Friday to curb a surge in imports, the European Commission said on Wednesday.....

....The Commission, which oversees trade policy in the bloc, had proposed the tariff measures last year but failed to a get clear majority of the 28 EU states to back the plan in December.....

.....Cambodia and Myanmar benefit from the EU's "Everything But Arms" scheme which allows the world's least developed countries to export most goods to the European Union free of duties. But the Commission said its investigation had confirmed that a significant increase in imports of longer-grained Indica rice from Cambodia and Myanmar had damaged EU producers.

From Jan. 18 it will set a duty of 175 euros (£155) per tonne of rice in the first year, dropping to 150 euros in the second and 125 euros in year three, it said.

Cambodia and Myanmar already face losing their special access to the world's largest trading bloc over their human rights records, although that potential sanction is separate from the rice safeguard measures.

The Commission said it had found that imports of Indica rice from the two countries had risen by 89 percent in the past five rice-growing seasons, and that a surge in cheap imports had reduced EU producers' market share in Europe to 29 from 61 percent.

EU farming group Copa-Cogeca said it welcomed the Commission's decision on Wednesday, saying it had recognised a critical situation in a sector that is vital for preventing an exodus from rural areas."