M&B is upbeat despite a 13pc decline in profit
UK PUB and restaurant operator Mitchells & Butlers posted promising results yesterday, despite recording a 13 per cent loss in profits for the financial year ended 27 September.
The Birmingham-based firm saw its pre-tax profit fall to £123m for the year, from £142m last year. It said a key drag on profits came from integrating the 179 pubs it acquired from the Orchid Group earlier in the year. In spite of the hit, the results were in line for analysts forecasts, with the company also showing “signs of improvement”, according Numis analyst Douglas Jack.
Mitchells & Butlers – whose portfolio includes Harvester, Toby Carvery, All Bar One and O’Neill’s – saw its total revenue rise five per cent to £1,970m, with a like-for-like sales growth of 0.6 per cent for the year.