Whitbread positives from new five-year plan outweigh negatives, says Barclays
While interim results from Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) saw profits fall more than expected, Barclays said the updated five-year plan meant there were more positives than negatives in the numbers. Adjusted profit before tax from the FTSE 100 hotels group fell 13% to £340 million, which was below the £350 million consensus forecast and is likely to lead to a 2-4% reduction on full-year PBT cut by the City today, even if there are more cost savings than expected, analysts at Barclays said.
Whitbread unveils £100m buyback to sweeten profits plunging 22%
Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) posted a mixed set of interim results, with a share buy-back of up to £100 million and new five-year profit guidance to sweeten flat revenues and a fall in profit. The Premier Inn owner said the half-year to 29 August was a period that saw "a slightly softer UK demand environment", while management made investments in the five-year 'accelerating growth plan', partially offset by positive momentum in its newer market of Germany.
Can Whitbread show more evidence of progress amid 'soft' market?
Premier Inn owner Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) next Wednesday reports on its peak holiday period, with analysts hailing recent performance improvements but said the market remains unhelpful. Investors last heard from Premier Inn owner back in June after the UK hotel chain's performance improved from the end of its last financial year, but still remained down on the year before.
Whitbread an opportunity a this level, suggests US bank
Whitbread has limited visibility into bookings and management is more cautious compared to this time last year but the Premier Inn owner remains at an attractive valuation even so, says broker Jefferies. Uneven demand patterns will again become visible in this year's fourth quarter, but that aside Jefferies sees a minus 20% share price performance YTD as unwarranted.
Union to protest at Whitbread AGM over job cut confusion
Unite union is set to protest Whitbread PLC's (LSE:WTB) proposed 1,500 job cuts today at its annual general meeting, with the former claiming the hospitality firm has refused to consult them or answer basic questions about the redundancy protest. "Rarely is a company so shameless as to celebrate leaping profits and dividends by announcing mass job cuts.
Whitbread shares bounce after 'largely in line' results
Whitbread PLC (LSE:WTB) is still topping the FTSE 100 leaderboard, with its shares up 3%. Barclays analyst Vicki Stern says she thinks the first-quarter numbers are "no major event today", adding that they were "largely in line with expectations".
Whitbread one for the long haul, suggests Jefferies
Whitbread shares have been under pressure recently from downgrades to revenue per room or REVpar growth at Premier Inns, something that Jefferies sees as overlooking the long-term picture. A first-quarter trading update for the year to next March (2025) is due next week and ahead of that consensus annual profit estimates have dropped 4% recently to £533 million, or implying per room revenue growth of less than 1%, says the US bank.
Whitbread in favour at Jefferies in spite of weak industry data
Whitbread, the Premier Inn owner, has held on to its buy rating and price target at Jefferies even though the US bank notes that industry hotel data in April for Economy and Midscale was disappointing. Easter should have provided a tailwind to growth but UK RevPAR [revenue per room] declined 4.1% year-on-year, driven by pricing and against the toughest comparisons vs 2019.
