Whitbread, the British hospitality company and the owner of hotel Premier Inn, has reported a marginal 1% increase in group total sales, reaching £739m ($940.8) for the first quarter (Q1) of fiscal year 2025 (FY2025).
Trading results for the 13-week period, which concluded on 31 May 2024, show that the company's Premier Inn UK business experienced a slight 0.2% dip in total sales to £685.2m, compared to £686.5m in the same quarter of previous year.
Premier Inn UK's total accommodation sales saw a modest rise of 0.3%, amounting to £494.1m, as against £492.8m reported in Q1 FY2024.
Revenue per available room (RevPAR) for Premier Inn UK decreased by 1.6% to £63.5m in Q1 FY2025 from £64.5m in Q1 of previous fiscal year.
The occupancy rate for Premier Inn UK also saw a decline, dropping to 81.9% in Q1 FY2025 from 82.8% in Q1 FY2024.
The UK's food and beverage sales fell by 1.4% to £191m during the reported quarter of FY2025 from £193.7m, attributed to strong breakfast sales counterbalanced by weaker performance in some branded restaurants.
In contrast, Premier Inn Germany demonstrated growth with a 17.3% increase in total sales, reaching €63.1m ($67.7m) in Q1 FY2025 from €53.8m reported in the same period a year ago.
Total accommodation sales in Germany rose by 17.6% to €54.3m from €46.2m reported in Q1 FY2024.
RevPAR in the Germany region increased by 3.9% to €56.7m, as against €54.6m in Q1 of last fiscal year.
The company has also announced a £150m share buy-back programme, with 3.2 million shares already purchased at a total cost of £96m.
Despite the mixed results, Whitbread has confirmed its annual forecast.
Whitbread chief executive Dominic Paul said: “Whilst the normal booking pattern means our forward visibility remains limited, our forward booked position is positive, and we remain confident in full year outlook. This reflects a more encouraging trading performance in the UK, our strong commercial programme and increased cost efficiencies, as well as good progress in Germany.
"Our Accelerating Growth Plan to optimise F&B [food and beverages] at a number of sites and add 3,500 rooms to our UK pipeline is on track and will increase our momentum to deliver long-term profitable growth.”
