Whitbread Share Discussion Threads

[tlobs2] 20/7/2023 07:36

If you can't read the above ...... pretty positive :-)


Whitbread's largest source of upside to its long-term equity story is Germany, with inflecting profitability being a key catalyst for fiscal 2024, analysts at Jefferies say in a note. The Premier Inn owner's mature estate in Germany was profitable in the third quarter for the second consecutive period, and it has reiterated its ambition for the entire German business to turn breakeven during 2023, the analysts say.

Furthermore, its balance sheet strength shows GBP750 million in cash firepower to acquire freehold and enter leasehold contracts, and start share buybacks, the analysts say. "Accelerated growth should drive a rerating," the analysts say. Jefferies rates the stock buy and has a 4,000 pence target price.

[tlobs2] 19/7/2023 07:55

From Sly News...

Inflation - latest: Interest rate forecasts change sharply in space of an hour - as experts underestimate inflation drop
Inflation data for June has just been released, showing a drop from 8.7% to 7.9% - more than expected. This has led to forecasts for peak interest rates to fall from 6% to 5.75%.

Could we push on to 3600p over the coming weeks with the feel good factor returning?

[bountyhunter] 11/7/2023 12:38

Dividend reinvested.

[philanderer] 10/7/2023 10:36

Whitbread potential isn’t priced in, says SVM duo


The rating given to Whitbread (WTB) does not fully reflect the growth potential at the owner of Premier Inn, say SVM managers Margaret Lawson and Neil Veitch.

The pair hold Whitbread in the £96m SVM UK Growth fund, where it makes up 1% of assets. In their latest update, they noted that the Citywire Elite Companies AAA-rated business is operating in areas with further growth potential, namely Germany and the UK.

‘The biggest growth potential is in Germany where the group believes it can expand sevenfold or more,’ they said.

‘But the UK is also not viewed as saturated, with the possibility of 50% expansion in the room estate. The British business is profitable and cash generative, although with significant capital expenditure as it invests for growth. Germany is in loss, but hotels trading for more than 12 months are profitable.’

Structural shifts in the UK hotel market are also improving the pricing power and market share of the group, with pre-tax profit margins almost back to 2020 levels of 20%.

‘Whitbread showed strong trading momentum in its annual results to the end of February 2023, and has reported a strong trading start to the current year. UK occupancy and room rates are helping to drive this growth,’ said Lawson and Veitch.

‘The combination of like-for-like room revenue, an expansion of the number of rooms, and a growing dividend should drive profits growth. There is potential for Germany to move into breakeven within two years.’

The managers predicted that further cash could be returned to investors, and sales of poorer-performing units in the UK are under consideration.

‘The rating does not appear to fully reflect growth potential,’ they said.

The shares climbed 0.3%, or 10p, to £33.09 at the end of last week.


citywire.com

[libertine] 07/7/2023 16:59

Whitbread benefiting from widening quality gap at Premier Inns

[philanderer] 04/7/2023 14:10

Telegraph 'Questor' tip again today...


This company’s punchy expansion plans are built on solid foundations

Questor share tip: market share gains and strong pricing suggest this stock can deliver long-term capital appreciation and dividend growth

[philanderer] 29/6/2023 10:14

Barclays raises Whitbread price target to 4,250 (4,000) pence - 'overweight'

[philanderer] 27/6/2023 00:33

Whitbread rose 1.7 per cent, or 54p, to 3325p after HSBC raised the target price to 4700p from 4200p.


Mail market report

[philanderer] 26/6/2023 10:35

Market report..

Whitbread was the best performer in the FTSE 100, up 1.9%. On Thursday, the hotelier reported a jump in quarterly revenue amid strong demand from both leisure and business travellers in the UK.

Analysts at Shore Capital on Friday said the ‘strong’ trading update was above its expectations, leading the broker to boost its full-year pretax profit estimate for the firm by 15%.

[frazboy] 25/6/2023 18:28

Bounty, the update refers to structural change in the hotels sector - a reduction in the number of available rooms is how I read it. I have first hand experience of that, a friend who ran a guest house in the West End of Edinburgh shut up shop (sold the premises as a house for a lovely profit due to ZIRP essentially - house price inflation) after Covid. Him and his wife provided good value, low price accommodation. But no more. Slightly off topic but interesting, booking.com took about 18% of his gross room rate. Since learning that I've always booked rooms directly hoping to negotiate a discount. Doesn't work for Premier or Travel lodge tho.What I'm wondering really is whether we'll continued inflation in room rates?

[bountyhunter] 25/6/2023 17:50

Yes prices have gone through the roof, but so have those for the competition! Still not too bad when you compare.

[frazboy] 25/6/2023 17:42

Tlobs - not sure about prices rising due to train strikes. Any data support that conclusion? What amazed me was that occupancy hadn't changed but prices have gone up 30%. Impressive contributor to our current inflation issues!

[philanderer] 23/6/2023 14:49

UBS raises Whitbread price target to 4,200 (4,075) pence - 'buy'

Jefferies raises Whitbread price target to 4,200 (4,000) pence - 'buy'

[philanderer] 23/6/2023 00:15

Derren Nathan, head of equity research at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Whitbread’s management certainly aren’t sleeping on the job if today’s first-quarter update is anything to go by. Guests are stomaching some pretty hefty tariff rises in the UK. At nearly £112 per night, it seems that the concept of budget accommodation in the UK has all but evaporated.

“Whitbread continues to grab market share in its home market, but with occupancy on the wane we wonder if it will slow its room-opening programme in the UK. It was also encouraging to see a recovery in food and beverages, which was the fly in Whitbread’s ointment last year.”

Premier Inn is expanding in Germany, where its division remains loss-making but is expected to break even this year as demand recovers from the pandemic. It has 56 hotels with 10,000 rooms, and a further 32 hotels and 6,000 rooms in the pipeline.

[philanderer] 22/6/2023 10:31

Thu, 22nd Jun 2023

10:06 Alliance News


Edison analyst Neil Shah commented: "Whitbread, the owner of the Premier Inn hotel group, has reported a significant uptick in sales, a promising sign of recovery bolstered by the influx of tourists visiting London for the King’s Coronation. The boost in tourist activity helped the hotel group achieve an 18% increase in sales, demonstrating a robust start to the year.

"The shift in the travel and leisure behaviour of Britons post-pandemic seems to have positively influenced the performance of Whitbread's portfolio of 800 hotels. A notable driver of this growth was the exceptional demand in London, likely fuelled by the city's coronation festivities in May. As a result, occupancy across Whitbread's London-based properties soared by 81.2%, a substantial rise from the previous term's 76.8%."

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Helping Whitbread is a growing reputation for Premier Inn among business travellers, AJ Bell analyst Russ Mould noted, in contrast to Travelodge.

"Premier Inn has managed to distance itself from Travelodge and other budget chains in terms of how it is perceived by people needing accommodation. In particular, business customers seem happy to stay at one of its hotels, including those forced by their employer to seek a cheaper option," Mould explained.

"Travelodge is up for sale with a rumoured GBP1.2 billion price tag – getting anywhere close to that amount could put the spotlight on Whitbread and whether Premier Inn sites are currently undervalued."

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All-in-all, UBS said Whitbread's update was "reassuring", though the Swiss bank noted the stock has been "strong", suggesting it may face some selling pressure on Thursday.

[philanderer] 22/6/2023 10:15

That's a pretty hopeless market reaction on a very poor market day generally. Shame as it was a good update.

Happy to hold.

[tlobs2] 22/6/2023 10:14

Today is the day for WTB to significantly increase their efforts on the buy back scheme!

[bountyhunter] 22/6/2023 08:06

An excellent trading update with the expansion into Germany going well with plenty of potential there. 40p divi payable early July and £300m buyback is a third of the way through.

[tlobs2] 22/6/2023 07:55

That's the rail strikes for you frazboy !

[frazboy] 22/6/2023 07:54

Occupancy down by a couple of percent points in London, room rates up by £30 per room per night! There’s a dose of inflation for you and an example of inelastic demand.

[tlobs2] 22/6/2023 07:50

What an excellent trading update. Should send it on its way back into the £40-50's but will no doubt get dragged down by the mm's.

LOL :-)

[steeplejack] 22/6/2023 07:05

OutlookWith strong trading momentum across the Group, we remain confident in the full year outlook. Forward booked revenue in the UK is well ahead of last year and in Germany we remain on course and expect to reach break-even on a run-rate basis during calendar year 2024.

[bountyhunter] 21/6/2023 22:10

Possible news on the £700m pub and restaurant arm sale tomorrow together with the trading update?