Whitbread Preliminary Results – 26th April
GOOD GROWTH IN REVENUE, PROFIT AND DIVIDEND
Whitbread PLC results for the 53 week financial year to 3 March 2016
Financial Highlights
| 2015/16 | 2014/15 | Change | |
| Total revenue (£m) | 2,921.8 | 2,608.1 | 12.0% |
| Underlying profit1 before tax (£m) | 546.3 | 488.1 | 11.9% |
| Hotels and Restaurants underlying operating profit (£m) | 446.9 | 401.4 | 11.3% |
| Costa underlying operating profit (£m) | 153.5 | 132.5 | 15.8% |
| Profit for the year | 387.3 | 366.1 | 5.8% |
| Underlying basic EPS1 (pence) | 238.65 | 213.67 | 11.7% |
| Total basic EPS (pence) | 215.66 | 204.81 | 5.3% |
| Full year dividend (pence) | 90.35 | 82.15 | 10.0% |
- Group total sales growth of 12.0% and like for like sales2 growth of 3.0%
- Premier Inn total sales growth of 12.9% and like for like sales up 4.2%
- Costa total sales growth of 15.9%, system sales up 15.3% and UK like for like sales up 2.9%
- Group return on capital3 of 15.3% (2014/15: 15.7%) includes investments in future hotel openings
- Strong cash generated from operations of £782.2 million which funded capital investment4 of £724.9 million
- Strong balance sheet with year-end net debt of £909.8 million (2014/15: £583.2 million)
Richard Baker, Chairman, said:
“With another good set of results, that continue to show the strength of Whitbread’s brands, the Board is pleased to announce an increase in the full year dividend of 10%.
This is a very exciting time for the Company; with our recent senior appointments, we now have a refreshed leadership team, and I am delighted it is being led by Alison Brittain as CEO, to take us on the journey to building a bigger as well as a better Whitbread.”
Alison Brittain, Chief Executive, said:
“Whitbread has had another successful year with good growth in sales of 12.0% and underlying earnings per share increasing by 11.7%, once again demonstrating the strength of our businesses. We propose a final dividend of 61.85 pence per share, which would deliver an increase in the full year dividend of 10%.
Both Premier Inn and Costa benefit from attractive market growth opportunities and we will continue to capitalise on these by developing our network and brand strength as we fulfil our ambitions to reach c.85,000 UK hotel rooms and c.£2.5 billion system sales in Costa, by 2020.
The world around us is shifting, with rising customer expectations, an evolving competitor landscape, rapid technological developments and changing cost structures. In responding to this change, I am especially keen to reinforce our relentless focus on our customers and on innovation to develop our brand propositions ensuring we stay ahead and become more productive.
I have identified three key strategic themes to develop our business: grow and innovate in our core UK businesses; focus on our strengths to grow internationally; and build the capability and infrastructure to support long-term growth. This strategy will enable us to deliver our significant growth ambitions, grow earnings and dividends, maintain good returns on capital and create further value for our shareholders.
Whilst it is only six weeks into our new financial year we remain confident of making good progress this year.”
Note: 2015/16 is reported as 53 weeks to 3 March 2016 and information throughout this announcement is on that basis unless stated otherwise. The comparative period for 2014/15 was 52 weeks to 26 February 2015.
For further information contact:
Whitbread
Nicholas Cadbury, Group Finance Director +44 (0) 20 7806 5491
Anna Glover, Director of Communications +44 (0) 1582 844 244
Joanne Russell, Director of Investor Relations +44 (0) 1582 888 633
Tulchan
David Allchurch + 44 (0) 20 7353 4200
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A presentation for analysts will be held at Nomura, 1 Angel Lane, Upper Thames Street, London, EC4R 3AB. The presentation is at 9.30 am and a live webcast of the presentation will be available on the investors’ section of the website.
