Pub group JD Wetherspoon (LON:JDW) shrugged off a slowdown in sales during this summer’s World Cup to post a record annual profit and a 5.5% increase in like-for-like sales.
Profit before tax and exceptional items was £79.4mln, up 3% from a year earlier while revenue increased 10% to £1.4bln.
The company, which has 34,000 employees and is best known for its cheap food and real ales, said it expected a “reasonable outcome in the current financial year."
Recent trading has been good, it added. In the six weeks to 7 September, like-for-like sales increased by 6.3% and total sales by 11.4%.
Tim Martin, chairman of J D Wetherspoon, said he was pleased with the company’s progress but warned that the excessive tax on pubs compared to supermarkets remained a major threat to the pub industry.
JD Wetherspoon shares rose 1% at 760.5p.