Pub and brewing giant Greene King has posted record profits and revenues for the 12 months to the end of April, benefiting, it claims, from the British public's appetite for 'everyday treats'.
The group operates over 2,334 pubs, of which it manages 954; the remainder are tenanted, leased and franchised. Greene King's leading retail brands are Hungry Horse, Old English Inns, Eating Inn and Loch Fyne while in the brewing division, it produces Greene King IPA and Old Speckled Hen.
Total revenues were up 9.4% on the prior year, to a record £1,140.4m - ahead of the consensus forecast of £1,122m. Part of the strong performance was a result of food sales growth of 17%.
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Profit before tax and exceptional items was also a record at £152.0m, up 8.6% on 2010/2011 and again ahead of market expectations of £148m.
On the back of today's results Greene King has boosted the full year dividend to 23.1p per share, a rise of 7.4%.
Rooney Anand, Greene King's Chief Executive Officer, said: We are in the middle of an exciting summer for Britain, despite the unpredictable weather, with the Diamond Jubilee, Euro 2012 and with the Olympics still to come.
"However, looking further ahead, our customers' spending will continue to be squeezed and concerns remain about job security. Our strategy is tailored for these difficult conditions..."
Since the start of the year Greene King shares have risen 9% but, at 09:17 on Thursday were down 0.28%.
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