Whitbread has reported a strong H1 performance driven by a differentiated model, with statutory revenue of £1.6bn and statutory profit before tax of £395m.

Compared to H1 FY23, revenue was up 17% while group adjusted PBT was up 44% to £391m in H1 FY24, ahead of expectations and driven by a “strong brand, clear strategy, and powerful business model.”

F&B sales increased by 10% vs H1 FY23, driven by a return to year-on-year growth in covers and spend per head.

Premier Inn UK total accommodation sales were up 15% vs H1 FY23 and 55% above H1 FY20, with strong growth in revenue per available room (RevPAR) in both London and the regions.

UK adjusted pre-tax margins increased to 27.5% from 24.4% in H1 FY23.

UK hotel supply is not now expected to return to pre-pandemic levels for at least five years, with Whitbread seeking opportunities to grow its pipeline towards its long-term potential of 125,000 rooms across the UK and Ireland.

“The Group’s strong revenue performance, focus on cost efficiencies and vertically integrated business model has generated significant cash flow in the period.”

Recent trends have continued, with a forward booked revenue position ahead of last year and no change to cost guidance.

Increased visibility on UK supply underpins confidence in the outlook for FY24 and beyond.

Whitbread completed a £300m share buyback on 3 October 2023, with a further £300m buyback to be completed by the time of FY24 preliminary results.

Premier Inn Germany total accommodation sales were up 82% vs H1 FY23, reflecting further room openings and the progressive maturity of the existing estate. The company continues to make ‘good progress’ and remains on course to achieve its long-term ambition of reaching 10-14% return on capital.

Dominic Paul, CEO, said: “This is an impressive first half performance. In the UK, we maintained high levels of occupancy whilst continuing to attract excellent guest scores and offering great value for our customers. The strengths of our operating model and our continued focus on driving cost efficiencies across the business resulted in UK margins exceeding pre-pandemic levels. In Germany, we are making good progress and are continuing to refine our strategy based on our learnings to-date and whilst there is much work to do as we continue to grow, we remain on course to achieve our long-term ambition of 10-14% return on capital.

“We are generating significant operating cash flow that we are redeploying into future profit growth as well as returning value to shareholders through increased dividends and share buy-backs. Given the structural shift in hotel supply and by continuing to invest in our assets, our brand and our teams, we remain confident that we can both extend our market leading position in the UK and replicate that success in Germany.

“The Group is in excellent shape, trading well and has significant growth potential, both in the UK and Germany. Based on our strong performance to-date and an encouraging forward booked position, we remain optimistic about the full year outlook and look forward with confidence as reflected by our increased interim dividend and further planned share buy-back.”