JD Wetherspoon profits fall as Martin slams anti-Brexiteers

Sales for the year ended 28 July came in at a record high of £1.8bn, up 7% year on year, as food sales and slot machine revenue climbed by 8% and 10% respectively. Bar sales, the largest contributor to revenue, were up by 6% at £1.1bn.

Pre-tax profit before exceptional items fell 5% to £102.5m as operating costs rose 8% to £1.7bn due to higher maintenance and repairs, sending the operating margin down from 7.8% to 7.3%.

The FTSE 250 company, which had a trading estate of 879 pubs at the end of the year, said profit before tax rose 7% to £95.4m after including disposals and other exceptional items.

Finance costs were also a drag, rising by 25% to £35.1m.

Analysts from Shore Capital said the sales growth was "staggering" but noted that underlying profit before tax had fallen around £5m below their forecasts due to shortfalls at the operating level, with operating profit having remained flat while margins dropped by 70 basis points.

They added that they interpreted Martin's forecasts of "a reasonable outcome for the current financial year" to mean flat or modestly ahead.

Martin launched an extraordinary tirade, even by his standards, at what he called an "Oxbridge elite" that was trying to stifle Brexit. The Wetherspoons chairman has claimed that continuing membership of the European Union stops Britain from striking trade deals that could allow him to stock his pubs with cheaper imports.

"Despite continuing political problems, stemming from the transfer of democratic power to a technocratic elite, Wetherspoon continues to perform well. Like-for-like sales for the six weeks to 8 September 2019 were up 5.9%. We currently anticipate a reasonable outcome for the current financial year, subject to our future sales performance," Martin said.

At 0940 BST, the shares were up 0.6% at 1,559p.

(Writing by Frank Prenesti; Editing by Michele Maatouk)