Greene King suffers 3% sales dip

Jul 3 2008 Liverpool Daily Post

GREENE King revealed the current pressure on the brewing and pub industry today after sales fell nearly 3% in May and June.

The Suffolk-based group, which also owns the Loch Fyne restaurant group, warned pub beer sales had come under “considerable” pressure thanks to plunging consumer confidence, the English smoking ban and raw material cost increases.

Its retail arm, which comprises 753 managed pubs and 39 restaurants, said like-for-like sales dropped 2.8%. The group also operates another 1,800 mainly leased premises.

Greene King posted pre-tax profits of £142 million for the 53 weeks ended May 3, up 2% from the year before, and broadly in line with market expectations.

But chief executive Rooney Anand offered some hope for pubs fighting the effect of the English smoking ban, which the industry said this week had knocked beer sales by 7% in the past year.

He said the group’s Scottish-based brewing and pub operator Belhaven, which is now into its third year of a nationwide smoking ban, hiked operating profits by 18% last year.

“Our results in Scotland....give me some encouragement for future prospects in England,” he said.