A leading analyst has said that in terms of like-for-like expectations at the 17 weeks stage for Mitchells & Butlers (M&B), he doesn’t expect the figure to be far from flat
Nick Batram at Peel Hunt said: “Although there is a lot of work going on underneath the bonnet, the top line remains stubbornly flat. Thus far margin improvement has been the main evidence that the strategy is working.
“However, it is fair to say that part of the reason for this is that M&B reports one LFL figure across the whole business, unlike many of its peers who are able to highlight the best parts of their operations and play down the underperforming bits.”
Batram said that the challenge for the company remains to extract value out of what is generally regarded as a high quality estate.
He said: “Progress is being made, but slowly and, with no dividend, there is little rush to buy the shares.”
