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JD Wetherspoon PLC on Friday said sales continued to improve despite having fewer pubs than before the pandemic, as annual adjusted pretax profit surged. The Watford, Hertfordshire-based operator of 800 pubs and hotels across UK and Ireland said pretax profit fell 33% to £60.6 million in the financial year ended July 28 from £90.5 million a year ago. However, its adjusted pretax profit jumped 74% to £73.9 million from £42.6 million. The adjusted figures don’t include a separately disclosed finance income relating to interest-rate swaps, which fell to £16.1 million in financial 2024 from £97.7 million a year ago. Revenue rose 5.7% to £2.04 billion from £1.93 billion a year ago. Operating costs increased more mildly, by 4.4% to £1.9 million from £1.8 million. The company highlighted that the number of pubs has fallen to 800 in financial 2024 from 879 at the financial year 2019-end, before the Covid pandemic. Wetherspoon proposed a full-year dividend of 12.0 pence per share, compared to none a year ago. Looking ahead, the company said: ‘The company currently anticipates a reasonable outcome for the current financial year, subject to our future sales performance.’ Wetherspoon shares rose 0.3% to 726.85p each on Friday morning in London. Copyright 2024 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.
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