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Whitbread has reported a 14% decline in its annual profits to £483m for the 52 weeks to 27 February 2025 (FY24: £561m), as it was hit by higher costs and a fall in UK demand.
The group’s revenue decreased slightly from £2.96bn to £2.92bn, down 1%, while its adjusted EBITDA decreased 3% to £1.03bn, reflecting lower food and beverage (‘F&B’) revenues as a result of our Accelerating Growth Plan (‘AGP’) and softer UK market demand.
While revenue per available room (‘RevPAR’) was down 2%, the group maintained a healthy RevPAR premium of £5.49 and outperformed the M&E (meetings and events) market in the second half by +0.3pp on RevPAR growth.
For the seven weeks to 17 April 2025, the group’s forward booked position is ahead of last year, supported by strong peak leisure demand.
However, UK F&B sales were 16% behind FY25, reflecting the removal of a number of lower-returning branded restaurants, in line with its expectations.
Additionally, Whitbread’s Five-Year Plan remains “on track” to deliver incremental adjusted profit before tax of at least £300m by FY30. A key contributor to this growth is the Accelerating Growth Plan (AGP), which is “progressing well” and expected to deliver over £100m.
As part of this plan, the company is replacing lower-returning branded restaurants with an integrated food and beverage offering at several sites and has begun unlocking 3,500 extension rooms.
According to the group’s FY26 guidance, Whitbread plans to open 1,000 to 1,200 new rooms in the UK, the majority of which will open in the second half of the year. Of these, 500 to 700 are AGP extension rooms.
Additionally, Whitbread stated that in the UK, AGP’s adjusted profit before tax (PBT) for FY25 will include a one-off impact of £20m to £25m, which is anticipated to be fully reversed in FY26.
Despite the performance Whitbread shares rose by 4% after it confirmed plans to bring forward a return of £2bn to shareholders via share buybacks and dividends by 2030, with a £250m buyback coming later this year.
Whitbread said: “Although the UK macroeconomic outlook remains uncertain, with the introduction of further commercial initiatives, Whitbread stated that it remains confident in continuing to outperform the market.”
