J D Wetherspoon (LSE:JDW) on Wednesday told investors that like-for-like sales rose 8.2% in the first 14 weeks of its financial year to 1 November, outperforming the hospitality sector for a 49th consecutive month, as the pub operator said it remained comfortable with current market expectations for the year.
The London-listed pub and hotel operator, which runs close to 800 sites across the UK and Ireland, reported total sales growth of 9.1% in the year to date, with bar sales up 9.4%, food up 6.8% and slot machine revenue up 7.1%, while hotel room sales fell 1.4%.
The NIQ RSM Hospitality Business Tracker recorded industry-wide sales growth of 2.7% in September against Wetherspoon's 9.9%, extending a run of outperformance the company has maintained since prior reporting periods.
Like-for-like sales growth has eased slightly since the annual results, when the company reported 8.6% growth for the first nine weeks of the quarter; the most recent five weeks came in at 7.5%.
Net debt stood at £736m at the end of the first quarter, down from £756m a year earlier.
The company opened six managed pubs in the year to date, at Manchester Airport terminal 2, Heathrow Airport terminal 2, Crewe, Ferndown, Dibden Purlieu and Kempston, against one disposal, leaving 797 trading managed pubs; it estimated a further five to ten managed openings during the current financial year. Two further sites joined its franchise estate, taking that total to 25, with 10 to 15 more franchised openings expected this year.
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Chairman Tim Martin said the company had "had a good start to the financial year", adding that "there are still three quarters to go and profit forecasts are very dependent on the level of sales growth", and that the company is "comfortable with current market expectations", once adjusted for the 53-week period.
The company said the consensus FY27 profit estimate compiled from seven analysts stands at £76.4m across the 53-week year, and that it will provide further updates as the year progresses.