Young's trades 'exceptionally well' over festive period

(Sharecast News) - Pub chain operator Young's said on Thursday that it had traded "exceptionally well" over the Christmas and New Year period, with total managed revenue for the five weeks ended 13 January up 30.4% and like-for-like sales up 11.6%. Young's said it had "performance strongly" during its key festive days, with combined like-for-like sales covering Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day up 10.5%.

Total managed revenue for the 15 weeks ended 13 January increased 26.1% and 7.9% on a like-for-like basis, representing continued momentum from the "strong trading position" reported at the time of its interim results in November, improving the company's year-to-date managed revenue like-for-like position to 5.5%.

Chief executive Simon Dodd said: "We are very pleased with our excellent trading over the festive period, which reflects the rigorous planning, commitment and enthusiasm of our teams across the business. We continued to break sales records across the period, delivering some of the highest daily sales in Young's history. Our recent pub investments performed exceptionally well across the period.

"Looking ahead, whilst we remain mindful of the headwinds facing consumers and the wider issues that our industry will encounter from the increase in both National Insurance contributions and National Living Wage, our business is in great shape, and we continue to be optimistic about the year ahead."

As of 1125 GMT, Young's shares were up 3.13% at 858.0p.

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com