1 May 2025
If you are covering Whitbread's latest results, please see the following comment from Mamta Valechha, consumer discretionary analyst at Quilter Cheviot:
"Whitbread’s share price is up by more than 4% so far following its full year results this morning, despite them being somewhat of a mixed bag. Revenue was in line with expectations but earnings came in a bit softer with a 2% miss.
"UK accommodation sales were flat, with revenue per available room down 2%. However, Premier Inn still maintains its outperformance against the broader mid and economy market. Occupancy remains high at 81% with rates roughly in line with last year, although London has proven weaker than other regions.
"Food and beverage sales were weak, down 11% due to disposals and restructuring of the underperforming restaurants, which was partially mitigated by strong breakfast sales. While these results are somewhat mixed, they remain in line with Whitbread’s accelerated growth plan.
"In terms of current trading in the UK, accommodation sales are down 1%. This was driven largely by lower demand which has been reflected in market data and shouldn’t come as a surprise. Positively, forward booking positions are ahead of last year, driven by peak leisure demand.
"Germany continues to make good progress with revenue accelerating as the estate continues to mature, and Whitbread remains on track to deliver a positive pre-tax profit this year.
"Given the strong cash position, Whitbread is accelerating its shareholder returns with a final dividend (60.6p vs. 62.9p) and has launched a £250 million share buyback program which is to be completed over the next 12 months and represents approximately 5% of market cap.
"Management noted that Whitbread is seeing higher cost efficiencies than the previously guided £60 million, and cost inflation is now expected to be at the lower end of the 2-3% guided range. Consensus is expecting profit before tax to be flat, and this guidance along with continued soft trading likely keeps that steady, with a small boost to earnings per share from the share buyback."
