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

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.