Greene King shares fall after warning on tough trading ahead
Greene King (LON:GNK) saw strong results throughout the summer, with sales up 1.7 percent as good weather and the European Football Championships drove customers into their pubs.
Their trading statement, released on Friday, showed a 4.5 percent rise in net income. However, volumes of its own brand brewed beer declined 0.5 percent over the same period.
The company gave a negative outlook in the near-term, saying “uncertainty surrounding the UK’s future withdrawal from the European Union has translated into a softening of some economic indicators and a reduction in consumer confidence.”
“We are alert to a potentially tougher trading environment ahead. Greene King has a track record of success in challenging trading environments and our strong balance sheet and enhanced opportunities following the Spirit acquisition will help limit any potential impact from prolonged uncertainty in the environment.”
Greene King shares are currently trading down 4.76 percent at 799.89p (1230GMT).
JD Wetherspoon shares fly as CEO digs at EU scaremongering
JD Wetherspoon shares are up nearly 5 percent after disclosing their year end results, showing a 5.4 percent rise in revenue and a 12.5 percent increase in profit before tax.
Earnings per share rose a further 2.8 percent. Tim Martin, the Chairman of J D Wetherspoon plc, used the trading statement to comment optimistically on the political and economic environment going forward.
He hit out at ‘scare-mongering’ claims made before the referendum and highlighted that negative forecasts from “FTSE 100 companies, the employers’ organisation CBI, the IMF, the OECD, the Treasury, the leaders of all the main political parties and almost all representatives of British universities” have so far been proved wrong.
“Just as the combined intellectual weight of the ‘good and great’ could not see through the flaws in the euro, they have, with honourable exceptions, been unable to see that the principle flaw of the EU – an absence of democracy – will almost certainly lead to further economic and political chaos, and to more dire consequences for those who are subject to EU decision”, he said.
“The overwhelming economic evidence is that successful countries are democracies – Mr Johnson and like-minded economists really do need to stick that point in their pipes and smoke it. For all their faults, democracies produce the greatest level of prosperity and freedom. As in the case of the euro, the general public has a much better perception about this overriding factor than the consensus of intellectual opinion.”
Looking towards a post-Brexit deal, he said:
“Common sense suggests that the worst approach for the UK is to insist on the necessity of a ‘deal’ – we don’t need one and the fact that EU countries sell us twice as much as we sell them creates a hugely powerful negotiating position.”
JD Wetherspoon (LON:JDW) shares are up 4.44 percent at 965.00 (1241GMT).