Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) has reported a 2% rise in like-for-like sales in the 17 weeks to 25 January, helped by a 2.6% rise in sales across the three-week festive period to 4 January and milder weather compared to last year.
The company said that its trading performance over the festive period was strong, including its biggest ever sales week. Like-for-like food volumes during the three-week period climbed by 1.3%, with the group selling 6.9m meals across its estate.
It said that trading on Christmas Day was particularly strong, with like-for-like sales growth of 7.5% and 193,000 meals sold. It said that the festive period included its biggest ever sales week.
For the first eight weeks of the period, like-for-likes climbed 0.1%, driven by a 0.1% rise in food sales, which offset a 0.4% decline in drink sales
The company said it opened 10 new sites in the financial year to date (including the four sites acquired from Convivial London Pubs plc) as it accelerates investment into the expansion of selected brands.
It said that the investment into its new pub systems was progressing on schedule with encouraging results, with nearly 400 now installed.
M&B said that there had been no material change to the financial position of the business since its full year results announcement.
Alistair Darby, chief executive, said: “We have delivered a strong trading performance over our busiest time of the year, with good sales growth. I was delighted that almost 200,000 people shared their Christmas Day with us and would like to thank the 18,000 staff who worked with such enthusiasm to provide them with a great experience. We are reducing staff turnover, modernising our systems, increasing guest satisfaction and delivering against our transformation plan to create sustainable value for shareholders.”
