J D Wetherspoon plc, announces its Q3 trading update for the 13-week period up to 28 April 2019.
Current trading
For the 13 weeks to 28 April 2019 like-for-like sales increased by 7.6% and total sales increased by 8.4%. Year-to-date like-for-like sales have increased by 6.8% and total sales have increased by 7.6%.
Property
Since the start of the financial year, the Company has opened three new pubs and closed seven. We intend to open two further pubs in the current financial year.
In the current financial year to date, the Company has spent £70.9m on buying the freeholds of pubs of which we were previously tenants.
Financial position
The Company remains in a sound financial position. The net debt at the end of the quarter was £746m and is expected to be around £740m at the end of the financial year.
Outlook
The chairman of JD Wetherspoon, Tim Martin, said:
“We continue to anticipate a trading outcome for this financial year in line with our previous expectations.”