Wetherspoon warns of new cost pressures despite rise in FY profits
The company ended the year with 794 managed pubs, down from 879 in 2019, but said sales per pub were 29% higher than before the pandemic
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JD Wetherspoon has reported a rise in annual sales and profits for the 52-week period to 27 July, but warned that new energy levies and higher wage costs will weigh on the business and add to inflation.
The pub operator said sales for the year stood at £2.13bn, up 4.5% on the previous year. Like-for-like sales rose 5.1%, with bar and food sales increasing by a similar amount, while income from slot machines rose 11%. Hotel room sales fell nearly 12% after the group withdrew from third-party online booking platforms.
Operating profit before exceptional items increased to £146.4m from £139.5m a year earlier. Pre-tax profit before exceptional items was £81.4m, compared with £73.9m in 2024.
The company ended the year with 794 managed pubs, down from 879 in 2019, but said sales per pub were 29% higher than before the pandemic, outstripping inflation. It plans to open about 15 managed pubs and a similar number of franchised sites this year.
Wetherspoon said new non-commodity charges on its electricity bills – subsidies for nuclear power and energy-intensive industries – would increase its annual costs by £7m. It added that the levies, which will make up 62% of its total electricity costs, would “inevitably add to inflation in coming months”.
The company also declared a final dividend of 8p per share, bringing the total for the year to 12p, down from 12p last year. It also repurchased more than 10.5 million shares during the year at a cost of £66.8m.
Net debt, excluding leases, rose to £724.3m, while on a lease-adjusted basis debt stood at £1.13bn. Free cash flow increased to £56.7m, up from £33m a year earlier.
Tim Martin, chairman of Wetherspoon, said: “Increases in national insurance and labour rates will result in cost increases of approximately £60m per annum, and non-commodity energy costs will add £7m. Cost increases such as these will undoubtedly add to underlying inflation in the UK economy, although Wetherspoon, as always, will endeavour to keep price increases to a minimum.”
