Whitbread PLC reported on last week its trading performance for the 50 weeks to 12th February 2015.
Andy Harrison, Chief Executive of Whitbread, commented:
“We have continued our strong trading momentum in the final quarter, with total sales growth of 14.3% and like for like sales growth of 5.8%.
Premier Inn and Costa continue to grow rapidly, winning UK market share, with Premier Inn also benefitting from the recovery in the UK regional hotel market. With this strong performance we expect to deliver full year results towards the top end of current expectations.
In the final quarter Premier Inn grew its total sales by 16.5%, with like for like sales growth of 8.6%. Total revpar grew by 8.9% through an increase in occupancy of 3.0% pts to 71.1% and an increase in ARR of 4.3%.
For the year to date we have combined record occupancy of 81.3%, up 3.3% pts on last year, with a 6.0% increase in rooms available.
Our Restaurants grew total sales in the quarter by 1.6%, with good Christmas trading off-set by a softer January.
Costa had an excellent fourth quarter with total sales growth of 19.8% and UK like for like sales growth of 6.9%. Our Christmas campaign was well received by customers, with like for like store transactions up 4.4% in the final quarter.
We are investing to improve our customer propositions even further and in our ambitious organic network expansion.
This year we shall open close to 4,500 new UK rooms and c.230 net new Costa stores worldwide, with a further c.5,500 new UK rooms and c.250 net new Costa stores worldwide planned for the next financial year.
We expect our capital investment for this year to be c.£575 million, growing to c.£700 million next year as we open more hotel rooms and invest in our freehold pipeline, particularly in London.
This organic network growth and our strong return on capital should continue to create substantial shareholder value.”
Trading highlights
Hotels and Restaurants:
- For the 50 weeks Premier Inn continued to win market share and grew total sales by 15.2%, total revpar by 8.7% and the total number of rooms available by 6.0%. Total occupancy grew by 3.3% pts to 81.3% and total room nights sold increased by 10.4% to 15.8 million.
- During the quarter Premier Inn grew total sales by 16.5%, with a 6.9% increase in the total number of rooms available and like for like sales growth of 8.6%. Total revpar grew by 8.9%, ARR by 4.3% and total occupancy was 71.1%, up 3.0% pts on last year.
- In London total sales grew by 23.9% in the quarter, with a 20.9% increase in the number of rooms available, whilst maintaining strong occupancy at 77.6% and total revpar growth of 2.6%. The London hotel market total revpar grew by 5.6% and the Midscale and Economy sector grew by 7.8%.
- In the UK regions, total sales grew by 14.6% in the quarter, with a 5.0% increase in the number of rooms available, combined with total revpar growth of 9.0% and occupancy rising 3.1% pts to 70.1%. The regional hotel market total revpar grew by 10.0% and the Midscale and Economy sector grew by 12.3%.
- Restaurants performed well in the quarter, against a tough comparative, with like for like sales growth of 0.6% and like for like covers down 0.4%.
- For the full year, the company expects to open close to 4,500 new UK rooms, including the first hub by Premier Inn, which opened earlier this year. In 2015/16, it expects to open a further c.5,500 new UK rooms. The committed UK pipeline remains strong at 12,816 rooms.
Costa
Costa continues to perform strongly, growing total system sales in the 50 weeks by 16.2% to £1,340.5 million, (17.5% at constant currency). Within this, franchise sales were up 15.5% to £516.9 million (17.9% at constant currency).
UK Retail system sales grew by 17.2% to £730.3 million, with equity stores delivering like for like sales growth of 6.0% powered by like for like store transaction growth of 4.6%.
Costa Enterprises (including Costa Express) grew system sales to £331.9 million, up 19.4%.
International system sales grew by 10.9% to £281.2 million (16.4% at constant currency), with growth of 6.5% (13.0% at constant currency) in EMEI and 20.3% (23.5% at constant currency) in Costa Asia.
This year Costa will open around 230 net new stores, including c.180 in the UK and c.50 internationally, and add around 800 net Costa Express machines, taking the total to c.4,300. Next year, the company plans to open c.250 net new Costa stores worldwide and install around 800 Costa Express machines.
