Wetherspoon annual profit rises 16.5%

Friday, 14th September 2018 09:29 - by Rajan Dhall

The Co. that runs around 900 pubs in the UK has performed well over the last year. The world cup and great weather were contributing factors to a good set of results. Highlights:

• Pre-tax profit after exceptional items rose to 89 million
• Like-for-like sales climbed 5 percent
• Operating profit £132.3m 2.9% increase
• Full year dividend 12.0p

Tim Martin, the Chairman of J D Wetherspoon plc commented ''The company has had a reasonable start to the financial year, but taxes, labour and interest costs are expected to be higher than those of last year, so we estimate that like-for-like sales growth of about 4.0% will be required for the company to match last year's record profits.''

On the weekly chart, it looks like we have lost some momentum since hitting the highs in 1346p. From the results alone it looked like we could have retested but the Chairman's comments could take us lower this morning down to test the trendline support or even to the 1179 - 1200p support area.

The Writer's views are their own, not a representation of London South East's. No advice is inferred or given. If you require financial advice, please seek an Independent Financial Adviser.