(Reuters) – UK’s Marston’s Plc on Tuesday returned to annual profit, as people thronged bars and taverns after months of strict COVID curbs ended but the pub operator flagged rising costs were squeezing its margins.
Marston’s last week said Christmas bookings so far had topped pre-pandemic levels and so have sales since October, as it pushed back results release, citing a “procedural” delay in the completion of auditing accounts of its joint venture with Carlsberg UK.
The Wolverhampton-based firm’s upbeat comments come at a time when a deepening cost-of-living crisis is forcing Britons to limit non-essential spending, while a sharp rise in costs squeezes margins for businesses.
Its operating expenses jumped more than 72% to 684.2 million pounds ($833.97 million) at a time when soaring energy and labour costs are troubling UK businesses in the hospitality sector.
Marston’s said recent sales were boosted by England’s performance in the ongoing soccer World Cup, after Three Lions stormed into the quarter-final stage of the marquee event, synonymous with summer months but hosted this winter due to intense mid-year temperatures in host nation Qatar.
The company’s pre-tax profit was 27.7 million pounds for the 52 weeks ended Oct. 2, compared with Refinitiv analysts’ estimates of 28.4 million pounds.
It had posted a loss of 100 million pounds a year earlier when UK hospitality firms were hammered by the pandemic.
($1 = 0.8204 pounds)
(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Rashmi Aich)
