Mitchells & Butlers returns to growth in Q4 on strong drinks sales.
Pub group Mitchells and Butlers returned to growth in the fourth quarter of its fiscal year driven by a 3.8% rise in drink sales on the back of the hot August weather.
Source: Sharecast
Total like for like sales for the year to date were up 2.1%, the company said in a trading update for the 51 weeks to September 19.
Fourth quarter like for like sales were up 1.4% compared with a flat previous three months.
"This improvement was supported by a strong August Bank Holiday weekend, during which like-for-like sales grew by 5.3% highlighting the resilience of guest demand. Pub and drink-led formats continued to perform well which is reflected in particularly strong drink sales growth," M&B said.
"We remain confident of a full year outturn in line with consensus expectations. Looking ahead to FY2027, we continue to expect cost headwinds to moderate from £120m in FY2026 to approximately £95m, equivalent to around 4% of our cost base."
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