Pub chain JD Wetherspoon has seen its revenue increase by 5.4% to £1.595 billion for the 52 weeks to 24 July 2016.
The newly-filed accounts show that the company saw an increase of 3.4% in like-for-like sales, food sales increased 3.5% and its profit before tax was up by 3.6% to £80.6 million, reports TheCaterer.com. Wetherspoon's also saw its operating profit and margin decrease by 2.5% and 6.9% respectively, due to an increase in staff costs, utilities and depreciation according to the company.
Discussing the results, Tim Martin the chairman of JD Wetherspoon said: "I am pleased to report a year of progress for the company, with record sales, profit and earnings per share before exceptional items. Since the year end, Wetherspoon’s sales have continued to be encouraging and increased by 4.1%.
"Despite this positive start, it remains to be seen whether this will continue over the remainder of the year, given the strong like-for-like sales in the last financial year and what remains a very low-inflation environment. We currently anticipate a slightly improved trading outcome for the current financial year, compared with our expectations at the pre-close stage.”
Although the pub chain has enjoyed success this year, it recently had to put on hold plans for more openings in Ireland due to high property prices and planning delays.
