# Whitbread Plc A momentous year

- Link: https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/whitbread-plc-a-momentous-year/412764479
- Published: 2019-01-17T07:32:38+00:00
- Author: Charlotte Edwards

**[Whitbread Plc](https://www.directorstalkinterviews.com/ftse-company/whitbread-plc/wtb.l)**(
LON:WTB), today announced third quarter trading update.

**Total sales growth of 2.5% and strong progress with efficiency programme**
 · 
Sale of Costa to The Coca-Cola Company for £3.9bn completed on 3 Jan 2019, ahead
of schedule

· Initial £500 million share buyback programme commencing today

· Over 2,000 new rooms added in FY19 so far and occupancy remained high at over 
80%

· Expect to deliver FY19 results in-line with expectations

· Remain cautious on UK environment next year given uncertainty and higher inflation

· FY20 underlying profit before tax expected to be consistent with this year, as
we continue to invest in UK & international growth

  |

 |

UK like-for-like

Sales Growth

  |

UK Total

Sales Growth

  |

UK & International^(3)

Total Sales Growth

  |  
 |

 |

Q3^(1)

  |

YTD^(2)

  |

Q3^(1)

  |

YTD^(2)

  |

Q3^(1)

  |

YTD^(2)

  |  
 |

Accommodation

  |

(0.2)%

  |

0.1%

  |

3.5%

  |

4.4%

  |

3.5%

  |

4.1%

  |  
 |

Food & beverage

  |

(1.5)%

  |

(2.2)%

  |

0.5%

  |

(0.4)%

  |

–

  |

–

  |  
 |

Total

  |

(0.6)%

  |

(0.7)%

  |

2.5%

  |

2.7%

  |

2.4%

  |

2.5%

  |

^(1)Q3 = 13-week period ended 29 November 2018 | ^(2)YTD = 39-week period ended 
29 November 2018

> **Whitbreads Chief Executive, said:**
> “This has been a momentous year for Whitbread, with the sale of Costa to The Coca-
> Cola Company for £3.9 billion completed on 3 January 2019, much sooner than expected.
> We are now commencing an initial share buyback programme of up to £500 million,
> with further details about our plans to return a significant majority of the net
> cash proceeds to shareholders at our Capital Markets Day on 13 February.
> Whitbread is now a focused hotel business with over 800 hotels in the UK, Germany
> and the Middle East, operating under the Premier Inn brand, with a committed pipeline
> of over 20,000 additional rooms. Premier Inn has made good progress this year,
> growing total sales by 2.5%, which along with strong results from our efficiency
> programme, means we are on track to achieve full year expectations for FY19.
> The UK business achieved total accommodation sales growth of 3.5% in the third
> quarter. Our performance in the quarter reflects a strong Central London market
> and a weak regional market. We are cautious about the macro environment for the
> next financial year due to increased uncertainty and continuing high inflation.
> Although we are confident in our ability to create value from ongoing investment
> in the UK and increasing investment in international growth, in this environment
> we expect underlying profit before tax in FY20 to be consistent with this year.
> We continue to be excited about the opportunity in Germany and our first hotel
> in Frankfurt remains the number one choice for customers. Our second hotel in 
> Germany will open in Hamburg in February and this year we have continued to extend
> the total committed pipeline in Germany, which now stands at over 6,000 rooms 
> across 34 hotels.
> Our unique model and leading market position in the UK puts us in a strong position
> to capture structural growth opportunities in the UK and internationally. Investing
> in growth through our disciplined approach to capital allocation ensures we can
> create sustainable value for shareholders over the longer-term. We look forward
> to presenting this in further detail at our Capital Markets Day.”

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