Langton Capital – 2023-05-11 – JDW conference call, RTN, Urban Pubs, Disney, train strikes & other:
JDW conference call, RTN, Urban Pubs, Disney, train strikes & other:A DAY IN THE LIFE: Braving a brief sit-down outdoors between the showers yesterday, I was overwhelmed by what felt like a swirling blizzard of snowflakes. It turned out to be dandelion seeds which, due to the council our neck of the woods not cutting the grass on the verges (either ‘for the bees’ or from a lack of funds or due to a sharp attack of sloth, take your pick), seem to be floating around by the billion everywhere you look. Now I have to admit that the weeds when in flower look not altogether awful. And the bees may be happy but, as the flowers go to seed, they lose their appeal and, if I happened to have an unploughed field or a newly hoed over plot of allotment in the vicinity – I have neither – I might be less than thrilled at the thought of all that weeding coming my way. Anyway, just a thought. On to the news: LANGTON EMAIL: The Free Email is now written in short form. Extended versions of many stories (after the ellipses) are in the Premium Email. Reply to this email if you would like to upgrade. Prices for the Premium are £395 for one subscription, £695 for multiple, £995 for very large subscribers, all plus VAT. Or sign up for easy in, easy out monthly option per subscriber HERE https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=87YUG2Z5W7PSN JD WETHERSPOON – Q3 UPDATE – ANALYSTS’ CONFERENCE CALL: JD Wetherspoon has today updated on Q3 trading and our comments are set out below: Headline numbers: JDW reports that LfL ‘sales increased by 9.1% in the 13 weeks to 30 April 2023, compared to the same period in the last full financial year before the pandemic’ (i.e. the year to July 2019. It adds that year to date sales are up 6.4% compared to the same year. JDW said that it does not give volumes vs price figures but did claim that its price rises have stuck, and that volumes are edging up. It said it has been able to take market share during the quarter as a result of its prices being relatively low. The company… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. PUBS & RESTAURANTS: Labour issues. A survey by the consultancy firm KPMG and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) has suggested that UK businesses are turning to part-time staff to avoid locking into long-term contracts. This can be more expensive. It could be because little else is available post Covid retirements and Brexit or it could be in anticipation of a potential slowdown in demand…. • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Train strikes. The industry will be well aware that train strikes are now planned for 12 & 13 May (this Friday and Saturday) as well as 31 May and 3 June. This is not helpful. Sales volume: Lumina Intelligence reports that pub and bar occasions have decreased by 1.2% YoY in the four weeks to 16 April… Demographics: Zonal and CGA NIQ’s GO Technology reports that 40% of ‘influencers’ are aged over 55 – nearly double the number who are aged under 25 years old at 21%… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Other news: In the US, with the CPI coming in at 4.9%, it is apparent that the gap between restaurant prices and the prices in supermarkets widened between March and April. Food-away-from-home prices in the US were up 8.6% on an unadjusted 12-month basis in the year to April whilst grocery prices were up 7.1% in the year. Online sales. See fuller comments in prior emails but it does appear as though this continues to sag. Delivery may be in the same boat. Away from our sector but ASOS shares yesterday fell by 22%. COMPANY NEWS: JD Wetherspoon’s shares reacted very positively to yesterday trading update. They finished the day up around 4.8% having been 8% higher at one stage. The group reports that FY results will be towards the top end of estimates… Restaurant Group will host its AGM the week after next on Tuesday 23rd. Activist Oasis, which owns 12% of RTN, is leading a campaign to oblige RTN to change direction somewhat and its most recent criticism has concerned boardroom pay levels… • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Red Oak Taverns has ‘transformed the England’s Glory pub in Gloucester.’ The company says this is the third pub investment by the pub owners in Gloucester and it says ‘England’s Glory has received a full refurbishment.’ Urban Pubs & Bars London Ltd has reported its FY numbers for the period ended 1 May 2022 to Companies House. The company saw a sharp rebound in revenue and operating profits YoY as the impacts from the pandemic began to abate. Revenue rose by 325% YoY to £32.6m as lockdowns eased Urban Pubs & Bars London acquired 13 new sites and opened 3 more internally. Gross profit rebounded to £15.6m, up from £1.4m the year prior. As a result, gross profit margin materially increased to 47.9% compared to 14.0% in 2021. The company posted a profit before tax of £3.9m compared to a loss of £2k in 2021. Ready Burger has launched a new £250k crowdfunding campaign in order to fund the opening of the company’s first dine-in restaurant. The company says ‘this investment round will assist us in further scaling the business.’ Per MCA, Amber Taverns CEO James Baer claims the wet-led operator has ‘got the infrastructure to go faster and keep growing’ in terms of its expansion… The spirits arm of BrewDog, BrewDog Distilling Co, has announced the launch of a new spirits portfolio as well as a £7m growth plan for 2023. The new range of products will include vodka, rum and gin categories. BrewDog co-founder Martin Dickie sits at BrewDog Distilling Co.’s CEO. Global Brands reports revenue of £84.4m in the year to September 2022, up from £66.6m in the prior period, with the growth driven by a 50% increase in international sales. The company owns the Franklin & Sons, Hooch and VK brands. Comptoir shares yesterday rose 15% on the company’s trading update. HOLIDAYS & LEISURE TRAVEL: Phillipa Harrison, managing director of Tourism Australia, has said that visitor numbers to Australia from the UK are recovering well, with 72,110 short-term trips made to Australia from the UK in February this year, down from 85,330 in February 2019. The UK was the second-largest international source market for Australia in February, after New Zealand and ahead of the US. TUI shares finished some 4.4% lower yesterday on the back of the group’s H1 numbers which, as usual, showed a loss for the quieter half of the year. Amadeus reported Q1 profit of €262m after higher booking volumes drove a 52% rise YoY in air distribution revenue to €679m. The Madrid-based travel technology company reported a 33% rise in first-quarter air bookings on the previous year to almost 122 million. A HVS webinar found that 41% of attendees believe investment in hotels to grow by 10% or more over the next 12 months with city centre, full service hotels and resort leisure hotels the sectors most likely to attract investor interest… OTHER LEISURE: The Walt Disney Co yesterday reported quarterly numbers showing reduced streaming losses but also lower subscriber numbers. The group’s shares fell by over 4% in after-hours trading…. • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. Newbury Racecourse PLC reported full year numbers for the 12mths to end-December yesterday saying that revenue was up 17% at £17.4m. The company reports a PBT of £0.13m compared to £0.18m in the prior year. Chairman Dominic Burke says ‘following two years of restrictions and disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 2022 saw the business return to normal trading with growth reported in the underlying business….’ FINANCE & MARKETS: The US Labour Dept yesterday reported that CPI in the US fell for the tenth straight month in April to a yearly rate of 4.9%… Sterling slightly weaker at $1.2616 and €1.1494. Oil up at $77.05. UK 10yr gilt yield down 6bps at 3.80%. World markets mixed yesterday. London set to open up around 18pts as at 6.30am. RETAIL WITH NICK BUBB: • See premium. Reply for sample or to upgrade. Single £395, multiple £695. Limited time offer: PayPal alternative monthly £25 + VAT per sub. Easy in, easy out. |
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