Poor weather continues to dampen summer trading for Young\'s
By Josh White
Date: Tuesday 09 Jul 2019
(Sharecast News) - Young\'s said on Tuesday that the pattern of poor weather which affected trading in the beginning of its financial year had continued through into the summer, with an \"inevitable\" effect on its performance.
The AIM-traded brewer and pub operator said at the time of its final results in May that the only good weather since the start of its year on 2 April had, at that point, fallen on the Easter bank holiday.
It said at its annual general meeting on Tuesday that, although managed house sales for the first 13 weeks of the year were up 4.4% in total, they were down 2.1% on a like-for-like basis.
By comparison, at last year\'s meeting, it reported a 5.2% increase in managed house like-for-like sales, having benefited from a long period of \"very warm\" weather.
\"This year, we will benefit from the acquisitions made last year, principally the Redcomb group of pubs,\" the board noted in its statement.
\"These pubs complement our managed house estate in and around London and in the south west, and we remain excited about their future growth potential.
\"We will also see the full year benefit of our major investments in the two hotels we added last year - The Park [in] Teddington) and The Bridge [in] Chertsey.\"
Young\'s also opened the Depot in Kidbrooke Village, and transferred the New Inn in Ealing from the Ram Pub Company into the managed house division, with the board saying the \"true benefit\" there would come later in the year following a planned refurbishment.
Those new investments, along with other investments made last year in the existing estate, would create momentum and provide a \"helpful tailwind\" for continued growth as the company competed against last year\'s strong comparatives.
\"We are, of course, also looking forward to the Rugby World Cup 2019 this autumn and the warm-up fixtures over the summer, two of which are at Twickenham.
\"Despite the early morning kick-off times for the tournament, we expect it to be good for trade.\"
Young\'s said it was \"very confident\" about the enduring quality of its business, and would continue to invest in its existing estate, in technology and in its workforce.
\"We remain positive about the year ahead and will update shareholders further at the half year.\"
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10 Lower Thames St,
London EC3R 6EN