Business
Food and Beer Prove Resilient for Marston's
Food and Beer Prove Resilient for Marston's.
About this update from Marston's Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n \n\n\n\nLONDON, May 22 /PRNewswire/ -- Sales of food and beer at independent brewer\nand pub operator Marston's\ncontributed to a resilient performance for the first half of the year in a\ndifficult trading environment.\n\n\n\n Despite the economic headwinds, food sales in Marston's Inns and Taverns\ngrew to 37 per cent of total sales, and turnover at the Marston's Beer\nCompany grew by 19 per cent following the successful integration of the\nWychwood Brewery last year and the trend among beer drinkers towards regional\nales.\n\n\n\n Acknowledging a 2.8 per cent decline in Group turnover in the first six\nmonths of the year, in an interview with online business broadcaster Cantos,\nChief Executive Ralph Findlay said he was cautiously optimistic about the\noutlook.\n\n\n\n \"We've been encouraged that over the last 13 weeks or so, we have seen an\nimprovement in our trading. I think it remains fragile. But we are cautiously\noptimistic.\"\n\n\n\n New Finance Director Andrew Andrea said that a tight control over costs\nhad helped to protect margins and maintained that the group remained\ncommitted to paying down net debt.\n\n\n\n \"Although debt has increased slightly, this is in line with our\nexpectations, and we fully expect to see a net debt reduction by the end of\nthis financial year.\"\n\n\n\n The interviews and transcripts are available now on\nhttp://w3.cantos.com/marstons.\n\n\n\n It's free to view. All you need to do is register at\nhttp://www.cantos.com. Cantos.com, the online financial broadcaster, features\nin-depth interviews, documentaries and webcasts with senior company\nexecutives. If you would like to contact us, please email\[email protected] or phone +44-207-936-1333.\n\n\n\n \n ","length":1783,"tagName":"div"}]