Greene King profits up to £71.6 million

December 5, 2007: Pre-tax profits at Greene King rose 7% to £71.6 million in the 24 weeks to October 14, 2007.

Revenue was up 6% at £445 million. Retail like for like figures were up in England, despite the smoking ban.

Acquisitions such as Loch Fyne Restaurants and the Scottish Belhaven brewery performed well, the latter having an operating profit up 16%, one year one from the Scottish smoking ban.

“These record results have been underpinned by sales and profit growth across all our businesses," said Greene King chief executive Rooney Anand. "This, combined with £126.4 million of share buy-backs, has generated substantial earnings growth in the first half.

“We have had a very successful first half but we expect the remainder of the year to be more challenging. We will, however, benefit from the underlying strength of our business, recent acquisitions and our strong financial management. Overall, we are confident of an earnings performance in line with expectations.

“There are well-documented concerns facing the entire industry: the first winter of the English smoking ban, cost pressures and general consumer confidence. Nevertheless, we continue to seize opportunities to strengthen our business and broaden the appeal of our pubs.

“We have confidence in the resilience of our business model, the quality of our assets, our robust balance sheet and our long-proven strategy. These, coupled with our strong cash generation and profit conversion, will enable us to create shareholder value in the current year and into the future.”

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