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Interim statement Revenue was up 10.7%, at £100.2 million. Profit before tax was £14.0 million and, once adjusted for exceptional items, was up 11.2% at £13.9 million. The summer was definitely one of contrasting fortunes with a markedly different profile to last year's. The first quarter of our year was the wettest one on record which compared with a glorious late spring in 2011. The summer saw London, and the nation as a whole, rejoice in the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympic and Paralympic Games. This set of results reflects our success in making the most of the opportunities presented by the summer of celebration and our ability to generate superior returns from our high quality estate. Our premium strategy, alongside our location in London and the south of England, has enabled us to deliver impressive like for like sales growth. We continue to refresh the quality and variety of our product portfolio and to invest in our pubs and our workforce to ensure we maintain our pub's ambience and high service standards. We are soundly financed and asset backed with a progressive dividend policy. At the period end, we operated an estate of 237 pubs of which 195 were either freehold or on long leases on peppercorn rents. Net debt at the period end was £117.1 million, our interest costs were covered 5.5 times by operating profits and gearing was 35.8%. In light of all of the above, the board has decided to raise the interim dividend for the 16th consecutive year. A dividend of 7.02 pence per share, an increase of 5.1%, is expected to be paid on 14 December 2012 to shareholders on the register at the close of business on 30 November 2012.
Stephen Goodyear, Chief Executive of Young's, commented: "These excellent results reflect some benefit from the extraordinary events we have seen in London this summer; they have also been achieved despite some periods of truly awful weather. They are therefore testament to the ability of our people to make the very best of our high quality and well invested estate whatever the circumstances. "We have seen very encouraging like for like growth from both Young's and Geronimo, and across liquor, food and accommodation sales. We have continued to invest in the estate and look forward to seeing the benefit of recent openings in the second half. "Despite continued caution on the part of the consumer, I believe we are well positioned to continue to generate profitable growth and therefore attractive returns for our shareholders."
Young's premium rating reflects the high-quality nature of its operation, but the reliable long-term growth prospects more than justifies a forward PE ratio of 18. The company - which is being valued on a small discount to net asset value - is also backed by over £500m of property assets and land. So, with a pre-results rally looking very possible.....but as always dyor and good luck.........
Targeting a trading situation like this comes with the risk that history will not repeat itself. Therefore you need to weigh up whether the shares are worth buying on merit alone and, on this score, they easily rate a 'buy' in their own right. For instance, the company has been benefiting from its canny acquisition of the Geronimo estate of large London managed pubs in late 2010 from which it has extracted significant value. Young has also honed its focus by selling off a 40 per cent stake in a brewing joint venture with Wells in a £15.1m deal a year ago. Reassuringly, trading so far this year has been good, with sales from Young's 121 managed pubs rising 10.1 per cent in the first 13 weeks of the current financial year, and by 4 per cent on a like-for-like basis. True, it's hard to predict how well the business has performed over the Olympics, but there are reasons for optimism as a recent Coffer Peach tracker survey for August, which monitors aggregated like-for-like sales data from 25 leading pub and restaurant operators including Young, reported a stellar 5 per cent like-for-like rise in sales for establishments inside the M25. It's worth noting, too, that sales growth from London pubs was "approaching 7 per cent".
Young & Co's business is not difficult to understand. It runs and owns an estate of 242 high-quality pubs in London and the prosperous south east, which are generally regarded as some of the best in the business due to their location and the higher-end clientele they attract. Their financial performance certainly attests to this. However, when a business is as easy to understand and delivers as reliably as Young's does, it's easy for investors to simply forget about it between its six-monthly results announcements. This has created an opportunity for investors over the last three years to profit from buying shares ahead of the group's results and, with Young's interims scheduled for 22 November, there could be a very profitable trading opportunity here. Indeed, over the last three years, as our table shows, the shares have on average outperformed the FTSE All-Share by 7.7 per cent in the month leading up to a results announcement.
http://www.iii.co.uk/articles/44291/stock-watch-young-cos-brewery
Young & Co's Brewery has said recent trading has improved significantly since the poor performance in the first seven weeks, as reported earlier in the year. Consequently managed house revenue for the first thirteen weeks was up 10.1%, and up 4.0% on a like-for-like basis. Managed house trading has benefited from a number of factors including the impact of last year's investments in new pubs, the addition of three sites transferred from tenancy, and strong trading during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations. The firm is anticipating a strong period of trading during the Olympics and it remains confident in its strategy, believing well-invested estate and management focus on growth should continue to drive superior like-for-like performance.
CONT Despite the continuing fragile economic backdrop, our orientation towards London and the South East and towards the premium end of the market continues to serve us well. We are well prepared for the London Olympics which are almost upon us; we are anticipating a busy period in a number of our pubs, and in our hotels where bookings are very strong. The Calf in the Westfield shopping centre in Stratford opened last month and is trading well, complementing our existing presence - through The Cow - on the doorstep of the Olympic Park. The King's Head in Roehampton and the Wheatsheaf in Borough Market will both re-open in the autumn, and we are pursuing opportunities to expand both the Young's and Geronimo estates, whilst also continuing to invest in our existing pubs. We remain confident that our premium strategy, well-invested estate and management focus on growth should continue to drive superior like-for-like performance."
AGM Trading Statement At today's Annual General Meeting, Nicholas Bryan, Chairman of Young & Co.'s Brewery, P.L.C. will make the following comments about trading: "The current financial year has started in line with the Board's expectations. As reported with our results in May, performance in the first seven weeks was inevitably affected by the poor weather conditions. More recently, trading has improved significantly, such that managed house revenue for the first thirteen weeks was up 10.1%, and up 4.0% on a like-for-like basis. This like-for-like figure includes Geronimo as it has now traded within the business for a complete financial year. Managed house trading has benefited from a number of factors including the impact of last year's investments in new pubs, the addition of three sites transferred from tenancy, and strong trading during the Diamond Jubilee celebrations.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201207100700032117H
Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares Buy 14-Jun-12 £48,576.00 Stephen Goodyear 8,832 @ 550.00p Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares Buy 14-Jun-12 £93,500.00 Rupert J. Clevely 17,000 @ 550.00p
Young & Co's Brewery 'A' Shares Buy 14-Jun-12 £23,375.00 Roger Lambert 4,250 @ 550.00p Young & Co's Brewery (Non-Voting) Buy 14-Jun-12 £18,000.00 Roger Lambert 4,000 @ 450.00p
Brewer and pub owner Young & Co doesn’t fare any better. Tempus likes the fact it owns almost all its 80 strong estate and thinks it could do well out of the Olympics but trading on 18 times earnings means investors means investors could find better value elsewhere in the pub sector.
Managed house revenue in the first seven weeks of the year was up 3.9% in total but down 2.0% on a like-for-like basis. "We are excited about the prospects that the Jubilee and Olympic summer will bring. Whilst the economy remains fragile, we believe that, with our focused and high-quality offering, we are well placed to continue to achieve growth," Goodyear said.
The group's net debt was reduced by £4.5m to £118.1m at the end of the reporting period. Goodyear predicts good year Performance in recent weeks has inevitably been affected by the dismal weather conditions, which contrasts markedly with the hot spell the UK enjoyed in the same period of 2011.
On the tenanted side, LFL revenue was up by 0.6% while operating profit was up 4.1%. Total revenue was down 5.8% at £13.6m, and operating profit was down 1.9% at £5.3m, both reflecting the smaller number of pubs compared with last year, and particularly the fact that three of the largest sites were transferred to the managed operations. However, the average EBITDAR (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, amortisation and rent) per pub improved 1.9% to £73,000.
Booze sales were up 5.0% on a LFL basis, with traditional cask beer sales continuing to outperform the market. Food sales were up 7.2% on a LFL basis. Accommodation sales were up 15.4%. Tenanted estate a bit flatte
Managed house revenue rose 29.1% to £165.0m, with like-for-like sales up 6.0% on the previous year. Managed house operating profits were up 20.6% at £35.3m, and up 5.2% on a like-for-like (LFL) basis. However, the division's operating margin eased to 21.45 from 22.9%, reflecting Geronimo's lower operating margins and also the impact of what the group calls "immature sites" where higher than normal levels of staffing costs are expected in the early days of a new pub.
Adjusted earnings per share (EPS) rose 17.8% from the year before to 33.41p, topping expectations of EPS of 31.74p. Managed estate booming
Revenue in the 52 weeks to April 2nd rose to £179.0m from £142.6m the year before, boosted by a full year's contribution from Geronimo Inns as against just 16 weeks the year before, and ahead of market expectations of £173.7m. Underlying profit before tax of £21.3m was marginally ahead of expectations of £21.1m. The group registered a statutory loss before tax of £5.4m versus a profit of £15.8m the year before, as a result of a £29.1m exceptional charge relating to the revaluation of the group's pub and hotels estate. The loss is purely a paper one which the group is obliged by accounting regulations to recognise.
Young's evolution into a pure pubs group after the disposal of its brewing interests last year has put the board in a happy mood which even the recent dismal weather cannot spoil. "The disposal of our stake in Wells & Young's has allowed us to focus on our core, premium pub strategy," claimed Stephen Goodyear, Chief Executive of Young's, as the group unveiled a 17.4% increase in underlying profit before tax.
Commenting on today's announcement, Young's Chief Executive, Stephen Goodyear said: "This transaction is mutually beneficial for both Young's and Charles Wells. Young's is focused on investing in its premium pub estate whilst Wells & Young's is looking to invest in developing new and existing beer brands. We are pleased to retain good supply agreements and our customers will therefore continue to enjoy their customary array of quality cask ales and lagers throughout our estate."
Wells & Young's Brewing Company Limited Young & Co.'s Brewery, P.L.C. ("Young's" or the "Company") announces that it has today sold its 40% shareholding in Wells & Young's Brewing Company Limited ("Wells & Young's") to Charles Wells Ltd ("Charles Wells"). Wells & Young's was formed in 2006 following the merger of the Company's brewing operations with those of Charles Wells, with Charles Wells holding a majority 60% stake. The consideration payable for the Company's shareholding is £15.1 million in cash. £5.1 million is payable in February 2012, with the remaining £10 million being payable in two equal amounts in February 2013 and February 2014. As at 4 April 2011 the net book value of Young's investment in Wells & Young's was £15.3 million. The disposal allows Young's to increase its focus on its portfolio of managed and tenanted pubs in London and the South of England while at the same time allowing Wells & Young's to continue to develop new and existing brands. Young's will use the consideration from the transaction to invest in the further development of the Young's and Geronimo pub estates. The existing, exclusive three-year rolling supply agreement with Wells & Young's for the supply of drink to the Company's pub estate has been amended. There are now two agreements: one for beers and ciders, the other for wines and spirits. Both are two-year rolling agreements but Young's cannot give notice of termination within first two years. The Company's board of directors believes that the pricing of the supply agreements is in line with our existing and market rates and will not impact existing margins. The licences granted to Wells & Young's in 2006 in respect of the Young's beer brands remain in place and Wells & Young's is fully committed to developing these brands. In the 53 weeks to 4 April 2011, Wells & Young's contributed £2.6 million to the Company's total adjusted profit before tax. However, as previously announced, the ongoing profitability of the existing business will be impacted by the loss of the Corona licence.
http://www.investegate.co.uk/Article.aspx?id=201108090700119793L