Proactive Investors - J D Wetherspoon PLC (LON:JDW) will hope to delve into continued above-pre-pandemic levels of trading when it provides third-quarter results on Wednesday, 10 May.
FTSE 250-listed Wetherspoons has so far outdone pre-pandemic performance in 2023, reporting revenues of £916mln for the half-year to January, up 3% on the £890mln penned during the same period in 2019.
Interim profit sat at £36.9mln meanwhile, down 2.6% from £37.9mln in 2019 as operating costs increased.
“Despite the ongoing price pressures facing consumers, Wetherspoons pubs have been trading above pre-pandemic levels,” Hargreaves Lansdown (LON:HRGV) analyst Susannah Streeter said.
“So far there’s no sign of this improvement tailing off and the company’s value proposition should help continue the encouraging trend.”
Higher energy and operating costs across the board have led pubs to call for support over the past few months, as inflated living costs also squeeze customer pockets.
Therefore, “investors will want to see though how the last few months have treated the pub group,” Streeter added.
Peel Hunt analysts dubbed the pub chain a ‘hold’ ahead of the results, penning a share price target of 700p, down 4% on Friday’s opening.
Looking ahead, Wetherspoons could be eyeing a boost from the host of bank holidays taking place in May, with Streeter adding its “pivot to a younger and more family-orientated demographic” should help the pub capitalise on this.
Peel Hunt meanwhile, suggest one eye should be kept on the effects of price rises implemented in the past few months.