Greene King (LON:GNK) published a trading update on Tuesday for the year to April 28th, sending shares downwards.
The pub chain said that like-for-like sales for the period were up 2.9%, proving ahead of market expectations.
Over the Easter period, like-for-like sales were up 4.6% compared to the same period a year ago.
Greene King attributed this to good weather and ‘particularly strong trading’ from Chef & Brewer, which saw like-for-like sales of 15.3%.
In addition, the company said that it had ‘made further progress’ with regards to its debt refinancing plan.
Specifically, the firm repaid £393 million during the year, alongside utilising the Greene King securitisation for £250 million at 3.6%, creating greater financial headroom.
Greene King said that it expects net cost inflation to fall between £10-20 million, and full-year profit before tax within the range of £244 million and £247 million.
Rooney Anand, the group’s chief executive is also set to depart the firm. He commented on the trading update:
“We have traded strongly this year and have returned to market outperformance. As I hand over to my successor Nick Mackenzie, I believe that, with our strong pub and beer brands, talented and dedicated team and high-quality estate, Greene King is well positioned to make further progress and continue outperforming the market.”
Greene King is the UK’s largest pub operator.
It owns various pubs and hotels across the country and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Shares in the pub group are currently trading down -7.52% as of 11:59, as the market reacts to the figures.
