Marston's Share Discussion Threads

[zeppo] 28/11/2013 11:14

Skinny

Thank you for the info.

I am surprised that the share after initially being up is now in reverse.

z

[jeffian] 28/11/2013 10:10

Fangorn2,
It can be done. It's all down to the publican. I doubt 'wet-led' pubs (i.e. pure 'boozers') have much of a future but I go to plenty of locals where they serve good beer and good, fresh food which isn't gastro-pub prices, but it probably requires a publican who can cook and is prepared to spend some time in the kitchen (they won't be able to afford to pay a chef). It also surprises me that there are still some miserable landlords about - in a business that stands or falls on customer-friendliness, you would think that anyone choosing to make it their career would (at least pretend to) like people!

[skinny] 28/11/2013 10:05

And fron today's update :-

"Subject to approval at the Annual General Meeting, this dividend will be paid on 3 February 2014 to those shareholders on the register at close of business on 20 December 2013."

[zeppo] 28/11/2013 10:03

When is the next divi paid and the next ex-divi date please?

z

[fangorn2] 28/11/2013 09:57

Haha very true. Am a big fan of Marstons though, don't get me wrong. Just despair at the implosion of community spirit around the country - the local pub was a key component of that.

Quality of grub is a helluva alot better it has to be said :)

[jeffian] 28/11/2013 09:55

Aye, give me a half of Mild and a pickled egg any time. (Not much good for profits, though!)

8-)

[fangorn2] 28/11/2013 09:52

Changing demographics, rising prices and the relative cheapness of supermarkets all contributed to the decline in pub usage. A typical weekday lunch, two mains, two puddings and 2 pints of bitter each usually comes to £52-58.

For one trip. That's pricey for most at the best of times. Unfortunately its no longer cheap to hit the local where communities used to get together.

[skinny] 28/11/2013 07:57

Yes - it is sad - and sadly, inevitable.

I'm a lover of a 'proper' pub, but the changing demographics dictate that I am an increasingly rare breed!

[martinc] 28/11/2013 07:51

Yes - good for MARS investors, but bad for locals who will lose their pubs, as the purchasers state that they seek to change their use. I'm a MARS holder, so I can't make a big thing about it.. but it makes me a bit sad!

[skinny] 28/11/2013 07:43

I agree - this sentence sums it up.

" This disposal is consistent with Marston's strategy to target growth through investment in higher turnover pub-restaurants, improve the quality of its estate and reduce its exposure to smaller wet-led pubs. "

[luderitz] 28/11/2013 07:33

What go's round comes round Martin, as long as they don't knock them down it doesn't rule out a return to their former use. In the meantime probably good news for MARS share price.

[martinc] 28/11/2013 07:17

So that's another 202 good old pubs being closed then. Not good news really if you like pubs

[skinny] 28/11/2013 07:05

FINANCIAL HIGHLIGHTS

· Group revenue - up 9% to £782.9 million (2012: £719.7 million).

· Underlying operating profit - up 7% to £168.3 million (2012: £157.9 million).

· Underlying PBT - up 1% to £88.4 million, despite higher interest costs.

· Return on capital - 0.5% improvement versus 2012.

· Final dividend - up 5% to 4.1 pence per share.

· Bank facility extension to November 2018 - extends maturity of Group debt.

· Current trading - encouraging start to year.


OPERATING HIGHLIGHTS AND STRATEGY

· Destination and Premium - strong sales and profit growth driven by new-build investment, including 22 openings in the year, performing ahead of target

· Taverns - H2 profit growth in managed pubs and 600 pubs converted to franchise

· Brewing - revenue and profit up with increased market share

· Acceleration of new-builds - increased planned rate of expansion of new-builds to 25-30 sites per annum

· Disposals of lower turnover wet-led pubs

- 130 pubs and other assets sold or exchanged during the year for c.£50 million

- Agreement to dispose of 202 sites for £90 million at 7.6x EBITDA multiple

- Target £60-70 million disposals per annum in 2014 and 2015 from Taverns estate


CURRENT TRADING - 7 WEEKS TO 23 NOVEMBER

· Destination and Premium -like-for-like sales up 3.1%; like-for-like food sales up 4.6%; like- for-like wet
sales up 1.0%

· Taverns- managed and franchised like-for-like sales up 2.1%; tenanted profits in line with
expectations

· Leased - like-for-like profits in line with last year

· Brewing - in line with expectations

[skinny] 27/11/2013 10:40

Results tomorrow.

[redartbmud] 01/11/2013 13:57

Marstons is advertising 2 new flats over a pub/shops in the centre of Wolverhampton. There is a crude banner hanging from the windows.
Desperate times require desperate measures, or every little helps.
Take your pick.

[skinny] 01/11/2013 12:34

Here is a link -

[jeff h] 01/11/2013 12:30

Morning Advertiser mentions Marstons new carvery format pub at Southport off to a better than expected start with sales in the first 5 days far higher than what was expected for the full week.

[skinny] 09/10/2013 10:21

N+1 Singer Buy 144.65 161.00 161.00 Reiterates

[redartbmud] 09/10/2013 10:12

Wait until interest rates rise - blood on the balance sheet.

[bit thick] 09/10/2013 09:11

Nothing wrong with debt, so long as it is affordable. Indeed, most pub companies mortgage their estate to obtain finance at a reasonable rate. Marstons is no different. This is a well managed company with consistent (if a little boring!) performance.

[redartbmud] 09/10/2013 07:52

No comment on the debt.

[skinny] 09/10/2013 07:18

Marston's PLC issues the following update on trading for the year ended 5 October 2013. The preliminary results will be announced on 28 November 2013.

Trading
Our performance for the second half-year has been encouraging, with good weather over the summer balancing poor weather during the first half-year.

In Destination and Premium pubs, like-for-like sales were 2.2% ahead of last year including like-for-like food sales growth of 3.7% and wet like-for-like sales growth of 0.2%. Over the last 11 weeks like-for-like sales have grown by 2.6%. Operating margins are expected to be slightly ahead of last year.

In our Taverns community pubs, profits for the full year are expected to be behind last year due to poor weather in the first half-year, a greater than anticipated level of disposals and a more subdued performance in our tenanted pubs in line with market trends. The performance of our managed and franchised pubs has been robust with like-for-like sales in line with last year and up 2% in the second half-year.

In our Leased pubs, profit for the year is expected to be in line with last year, with an improved performance in the second half year.

In Brewing, our own-brewed beer volumes are 6% higher than last year, outperforming an ale market down 3%. Premium cask ale volumes were up 4% in the year and bottled ale was up 19%. We continue to lead the market in both of these segments.

Estate Development
We are focussing on significantly improving the quality of our pub estate appropriate for both current and future consumer needs.

We completed 22 new pub-restaurants in the year with returns remaining strong. Over the last five years our national new-build pub programme has proven highly successful, generating strong returns and improving the quality of our pub estate. The 2012 estate valuation also indicated that the new-build pubs were valued at 50% above build cost, generating significant value to our shareholders.

As a result of this success we propose to accelerate the new-build programme and are targeting 25-30 openings over the next few years, with a visible pipeline of sites to 2017.

We have disposed of 130 pubs and other assets in the year generating proceeds of around £50 million, higher than we originally anticipated. A more aggressive churn of the estate will improve returns over time, assist the funding of the new-build programme and reduce our exposure to the tenanted sector. We aim to achieve disposal proceeds of £60-70 million for financial year 2014, principally from the Taverns estate.

Commenting, Ralph Findlay, Chief Executive, said:
"We are encouraged by our performance in the second-half year after challenging weather in the first half.

The performance of our new-build pubs is very strong. We have developed plans to accelerate the programme and intend to dispose more aggressively of lower-end pubs in order to pursue our key objectives of sustainable growth, improving returns and reducing leverage over time.

We are confident that we are significantly improving the quality of our pub estate for both today's and tomorrow's consumer."

[skinny] 08/10/2013 08:44

At the current price, it offers @4.3% yield.