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(Sharecast News) - Pub landlord Marston's said on Tuesday that it had delivered "strong growth" over the key festive trading period, with continued confidence in delivering FY25 market expectations.
Marston's said total retail sales in its managed and partnership pubs for the 16 weeks ended 18 January were up 3.0% year-on-year, driven by growth in both food and drink sales.
Like-for-like sales during the same period were up 2.0%, reflecting "strong trading" over the festive period, offset by poor weather conditions in November and January.
Marston's also noted that during the key festive trading period, the two weeks which include the five key trading days of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year's Eve and New Year's Day, like-for-like sales were "very strong", up 11.1% year-on-year.
Chief executive Justin Platt said: "I am pleased to report a solid first quarter performance for Marston's, with a particularly strong key festive trading period, achieving record sales on Christmas Day."
"We are excited for the year ahead as we build on this performance through the successful execution of our refocused strategy, driving revenue growth through event-driven marketing and the rollout of our differentiated pub formats."
As of 1015 GMT, Marston's shares were down 3.07% at 41.0p.
Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com
