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

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