However, the group said that since the year end like-for-like sales have risen 1.1% and overall sales by 5.5%. During the year, like-for-like sales declined 1.1% as an improvement in food sales failed to counteract a decrease in bar sales. Overall sales were £907.5m, an increase of 2.1%.
The final dividend will be 7.6p per share, bringing the total for the year to 12p, unchanged on last year.
The group has around 700 pubs across Britain. Pre-tax profits were £55m, down 11.4% as the revenue mix shifted in favour of lower margin food sales. Food now accounts for around one-third of revenues. This was in line with analysts’ consensus estimates.
In common with the wider pub sector, JD Wetherspoon is facing significant headwinds this year as energy, food, labour and tax costs all increase. It has only just absorbed the impact of the smoking ban and still faces a weakening consumer spending environment and competition from the supermarkets. Chairman and founder Tim Martin estimates the group will need to see a like-for-like sales increase of around 3% to offset these pressures.
The shares dipped 1.25p to 259.75p. The shares have seen a small tick-up over the past month, but investors are likely to be spooked by increasingly negative economic data in the short-term. Most of the bad news now appears to be in the price as the shares have lost more than two-thirds of their value since last year, but there remains no compelling reason to buy them.
