JD Wetherspoon reports like-for-like sales up 9.1% on pre-pandemic levels in past seven weeks but inflationary pressures for industry ‘ferocious’: JD Wetherspoon has reported like-for-like sales in the seven weeks to 19 March 2023 have been 9.1% above the equivalent period in FY19 and 14.9% above last year. Chairman Tim Martin said: “As reported last year, the company has a full complement of staff, although the labour market is competitive, with unemployment, in spite of economic problems, at approximately its lowest level in the last 50 or so years. Supply or delivery issues have largely disappeared, for now, and were probably a phenomenon of the stresses induced by the worldwide reopening after the pandemic, rather than a consequence of Brexit, as many commentators have argued. Inflationary pressures in the pub industry, as many companies have said, have been ferocious, particularly in respect of energy, food and labour. The Bank of England, and other authorities, believe that inflation is on the wane, which will certainly be of great benefit, if correct. Having experienced a substantial improvement in sales and profits, compared to our most recent financial year, and with a strengthened balance sheet, compared both to last year and to the pre-pandemic period, the company is cautiously optimistic about further progress in the current financial year and in the years ahead.” Total sales for the 26 weeks to 29 January 2023 were £916.0m, a 3% increase on the 2019 figure of £889.6m (2022: £807.4m). Like-for-like sales were up 5% on 2019. Compared with the first half of FY20, like-for-like sales were down 0.6% in the six-month period and were up 7.0% in the first six weeks of second half, before pubs closed as a result of the first UK lockdown. Compared with FY19, like-for-like bar sales decreased by 0.8%, food sales increased by 12.0%, slot/fruit machine sales increased by 44.3% and hotel rooms by 13.0%. Compared with last year, like-for-like bar sales increased by 8.4%, food by 19.3%, slot/fruit machines’ by 31.4% and hotel rooms by 7.3%. Profit before tax and separately disclosed items was £4.6m, compared with £50.3m in the same period in 2019 and a £26.1m loss in 2022. Operating profit before separately disclosed items, was £37.4m compared with £63.5m for the same period in 2019, and to £1.6m for the same period in 2022. The company opened two pubs during the first six months and sold or closed 11, resulting in a trading estate of 843 pubs at the half year end. There was a £3.1m loss on disposal, giving rise to a cash inflow of £2.7m. As at 29 January 2023, as a result of investment in freehold reversions (relating to pubs where the company was previously a tenant) and freehold pub openings, the split was 69.0%/31.0%. As at 29 January 2023, the company’s total net debt, excluding derivatives and lease liabilities, was £743.9m (23 January 2022: £920.4m), a decrease of £176.5m. The half year-end net-debt-to-Ebitda ratio was 6.16 times (2022: 25.63 times). The company’s debt and liabilities to trade creditors have both reduced since the first half of FY2020, the period before the pandemic started. Debt has decreased by £61m and trade creditors by £57m. A total of £179m has been invested, since then, in new pubs and freehold reversions. Wetherspoon paid £15.0m in respect of bonuses and free shares to employees in the period ending 29 January 2023, of which 95.9% was paid to staff below board level and 83.0% was paid to staff working in its pubs.