Broker snap: JD Wetherspoon remains a standout group, says Investec

13th Sep 2013 12:24

Investec has maintained its upbeat stance for pub group JD Wetherspoon after the company reported 'good' annual results and a 'strong start' to the new financial year.Wetherspoon reported a profit before tax and exceptional items of £76.9m for the 52 weeks to July 28th, up 6.3% from £72.4m the year before and marginally ahead of Investec's forecast of £76.3m. the consensus estimate of £76.2m.The tax charge of 26.6%, down from 28.6% last year, was lower than expected (27.5%) leaving adjusted earnings per share at 46.8p, above the broker's 45.7p forecast.Meanwhile, Analyst James Hollins said that despite difficult comparatives, like-for-like (LFL) sales in the first quarter of the new year were up 3.6%, though growth did slow to 2.5% over the last fortnight. This is in line with Investec's full-year LFL project."In our view, Wetherspoon remains the standout quality pub operator in the sector, with attractive assets, dependable returns and a sensible roll-out programme that is forecast to drive a double-digit medium-term compound annual growth rate in earnings," Hollins said.The stock was down 0.95% at 728p by 13:03 on Friday.BC