UK pub group Wetherspoons narrowed annual losses and said like-for-like sales in the first nine weeks of the current financial year were up 10%.
The company on Friday posted a loss of £30.4m before tax and exceptional items compared with a £167m loss in 2021 when Covid lockdowns were in place. Total sales excluding VAT more than doubled to £1.74bn.
Wetherspoons said there was a “significant” turnaround of £105 million in free cashflow, which improved to an inflow of £21.9m in 2022, compared to an outflow of £83.3m.
“Most commentators, including most publicans, understandably predicted a post-lockdown boom, in which the public would react to enforced cabin fever by embarking on a celebratory spree, but the reality has, in contrast, been a painstakingly slow recovery in sales, for some but not all, accompanied by great inflation in costs,” the company said.
Reporting by Frank Prenesti at Sharecast.com
