Shepherd Neame turnover drops after contract losses
Turnover at Shepherd Neame fell nearly seven per cent after the pub operator lost contracts with Asahi and Lidl.
The brewer, which owns and operates 322 pubs in Kent and the south east, reported that turnover was down 6.9 per cent to £145.8m in the year ended 29 June, compared to £156.6m in 2018.
Read more: Shepherd Neame’s exceptional costs take fizz out of profits
The company’s brewery arm is in transition following the loss of contracts to supply Lidl supermarkets and produce Asahi Super Dry.
Underlying profit before tax slumped 0.3 per cent to £11.4m, in line with the company’s expectations.
Shepherd Neame, which brews beers including Spitfire, Bishops Finger and Whitstable Bay, also reported a one-off exceptional charge of £10.8m, related to the refinancing of the pub chain’s debt facilities.
However, the company’s 70 managed pubs saw like-for-like sales grow 3.2 per cent, compared to 1.3 per cent in 2018 and like-for-like income at Shepherd Neame’s 239 tenanted pubs grew 2.3 per cent.
Chief executive Jonathan Neame said: “Our managed pubs have achieved substantial growth in turnover and profit.
Read more: Pub giant Shepherd Neame serves up rising profits
“The tenanted pub estate has maintained its impressive like-for-like performance.
“Brewing and brands performance has, as expected, been more challenging this year, but we are excited by the potential of our emerging portfolio.”
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