J D Wetherspoon plc said revenue for the 26 weeks ended 25 January 2026 was £1,087.8m and operating profit before separately disclosed items was £52.9m (2025: £64.8m); profit before tax before separately disclosed items was £22.4m (2025: £32.9m).
The company reported like‑for‑like sales up 4.8% in the half, with bar sales +7.0%, food +1.3%, slot/fruit machines +8.9% and hotel room sales down 0.6% after removing third‑party booking agents, the filing said.
Operating margin before separately disclosed items narrowed to 4.86% from 6.30% a year earlier as costs rose — wages by £28m, repairs by £10m and business rates by £9m — and the filing flagged further industry cost pressures from higher national insurance, labour and energy charges. Commenting on trading, Tim Martin said: "In the last seven weeks, to 15 March 2026, like‑for‑like sales increased by 2.6%."
Balance‑sheet and cash metrics showed net debt excluding IFRS‑16 of £772.9m (27 July 2025: £724.3m) and IFRS‑16 debt of £1.15bn (27 July 2025: £1.12bn); free cash outflow for the period was £0.2m and free cash outflow per share (0.1p). Capital investment totalled £45.3m (2025: £64.6m). The half‑year dividend was maintained at 4.0p and the company bought 2,770,750 shares for cancellation at a cost of £20.1m (average 724.0p per share), the filing said.
