THE owner of Premier Inn and Costa Coffee has warned its growth was likely to slow in the remainder of the year after first half-profits surged 11% to £193.4 million.
Whitbread, which employs more than 40,000 people at 2500 sites in the UK, saw revenue climb to just above £1 billion in the six months to August 30 citing a boost from the Olympic Games and the wet summer weather.
However, the company, which runs more than 60 Premier Inns in Scotland and dozens of Costas plus Brewers Fayre and Beefeater pub restaurants, was cautious on prospects as consumers are still facing a squeeze on disposable income.
Chief executive Andy Harrison said: "In the first half we saw Premier Inn have a small benefit from the Olympics that won't be repeated, Costa Coffee had a small benefit from the wet summer, and our restaurant business has also benefited from relatively weak comparatives.
"It was a really good first-half performance but there were a couple of things that gave us an extra lift, so it is partly that and partly that we see the background consumer markets that drive our business are pretty flat."
Maintaining a "Hold" rating on Whitbread shares, Panmure Gordon analysts said: "We remain cautious on current trading and the increasingly competitive environment in budget hotels."
UK sales at Premier Inn hotels open more than a year were up 3.7%, helped by more customers staying in London for the Olympics, while sales at Costa Coffee shops open more than a year jumped 6.8%, as coffee lovers chose its stores to shelter from the summer's miserable wet weather.
Like-for-like sales at the group's restaurant chains were also up 3.4%.
The firm has not seen any "demonstrable impact" from the bad headlines its rival coffee chain Starbucks has attracted over its UK tax affairs.
Mr Harrison said Costa sales had also been boosted this year by its ice-cold coffee and British themed cake and biscuits ranges.
Around 350 Costa stores will open this year with half of those in the UK.
Growth at its Premier Inn chains has been boosted by cost-conscious customers trading down from pricier five and four-star hotels to its more affordable rooms.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) – a key industry measure – rose 2.4%, incorporating 4.4% growth in London, and 1.9% across other UK regions.
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