Enterprise Inns has said that it remains cautious about the impact of consumer confidence and the smoking ban on the pub industry over the coming 12 months.
The company said that despite difficult trading conditions, its business model remained robust, with Ebitda for the 15 weeks to 12 January running broadly in line with the same period last year and earning per share ahead.
It said that the smoking had had an adverse impact on many pubs, particularly those that were predominantly wet-led.
Industry statistics have suggested that beer volumes fell by around 9% in October and November.
However, the company said that having aggressively churned its estate over the past few years and continued to invest in developing an offering less dependent on beer sales it was and many of its licensees were to some extent protected from the full impact of these beer volume declines.
Enterprise said it remained cautious about consumer confidence and the impact on all sectors of the pub industry over the coming year and added that the marketplace was likely to remain difficult for some time.
The group said that during the period it acquired 28 pubs for £26m, and was waiting to complete on a further six pubs in the next weeks.
It invested £24m on improvements across its estate and expects to invest £75m, the same as last year, on capital investment during its current financial year.
The company disposed of 10 pubs and two plots of surplus land for £7m during the 15 weeks, a profit over book value of £2m.
It said it had received considerable interest in the 96 pubs it placed on the market in November, and expects them to deliver a profit over book value.
Enterprise said it had invested £29m buying back 5.5 million shares since 30 September 2007.
The company said it was still in talks with HRMC about gaining Real Estate Investment Trust (Reit) status. The group, which tax officials have said does not qualify as a Reit in its current form, said in November it was looking into whether an internal restructuring would enable it to meet the criteria.
