Business
Q1 Trading Update
Q1 Trading Update.
About this update from Whitbread Plc
[{"type":"text","content":"\n\n \nStrengthening trading performance in the UK and continued progress in Germany\n \nThroughout this release percentage growth comparisons are comparing Q1 FY25 performance for the 13 weeks to 30 May 2024 to the same period in FY24, unless stated otherwise.\n \nSummary\n· Group total sales grew 1% to £739m, driven by improved UK trading and continued progress in Germany\n· Premier Inn UK:\no As expected, trading performance strengthened during the quarter and Q1 accommodation sales were in line with last year and up 55% versus FY20; total RevPAR was 2% behind and 38% ahead of FY20\no This meant that our total accommodation sales growth was 0.6pp ahead (Q1 FY24: 0.3pp) versus the midscale and economy ('M&E') sector1 and our RevPAR premium was £5.62 (Q1 FY24: £6.12; Q1 FY20: £2.32)\no Food and beverage ('F&B') sales were 1% behind with strong breakfast sales driven by high occupancy in our hotels offset by softer trading in a number of our branded restaurants\n· Premier Inn Germany:\no Total accommodation sales were up 15%2, led by the increasing maturity of our estate and continued room growth\no Total estate RevPAR increased to €57 and our more established hotels RevPAR was €61, outperforming the wider M&E market3\n· £150m share buy-back: on track with 3.2m shares purchased so far for a total consideration of £96m\n· Confident in full year outlook, underpinned by our strong commercial programme and good progress on cost efficiencies\n \nComment from Dominic Paul, Chief Executive:\n \n\"Our UK trading results strengthened during the quarter and we continued to grow accommodation sales ahead of the market. Underpinned by the favourable supply backdrop, total accommodation sales and RevPAR remained significantly ahead of pre-pandemic levels. In Germany, we delivered another strong performance, led by the increasing maturity of our estate and continued room growth. Our cohort of more established hotels is continuing to outperform the M&E market and we remain on course to achieve the important milestone of reaching break-even on a run-rate basis during the second half of 2024.\n \n\"Whilst the normal booking pattern means our forward vis...