Image source: Shutterstock

Highlights

  • JDW’s FY24 revenue grew by 5.7% to GBP 2,035.5 million
  • Profit before tax in FY24 surged 73.5% to GBP 73.9 million
  • Wetherspoon plans price hikes to remain competitive amid rising cost inflation in FY25

 JD Wetherspoon PLC (LSE:JDW) manages a chain of pubs across the United Kingdom and Ireland. As of 2 December 2024, the company’s market cap is GBP 781.48mn and is listed on the FTSE 250 index.

In the financial year 2024 (FY24), JDW reported a revenue of GBP 2,035.5 million, a 5.7% increase from GBP 1,925 million in FY23. Like-for-like (LFL) sales rose by 7.6%, with bar sales increasing by 8.9%, food sales growing by 5.6%, slot/fruit machine sales up by 10.8%, and hotel room sales rising by 2.7%. in FY24, profit before tax reached GBP 73.9 million, marking a significant 73.5% increase from GBP 42.6 million in FY23. This represents a notable improvement from a GBP 30 million loss in FY22, to a GBP 43 million profit in FY23, and a further rise to GBP 74 million in FY24.

Recent Business Update

In the first 14 weeks of financial year (Q1 FY25), Wetherspoon's like-for-like (LFL) sales rose by 5.9%. Bar and food sales increased by 5.7%, while slot/fruit machine sales grew by 13.5%. Total sales grew by 4.6%, slightly affected by pub disposals. The company has outperformed industry LFL sales for 25 consecutive months. The company opened two new pubs and plans to open nine more. It has sold five pubs for £2.4 million. Additionally, three Wetherspoon franchises are operating, with strong sales growth in Hull, Newcastle, and Haven Primrose Valley.

Company Outlook

In response to rising cost inflation, the company plans to increase prices, following the trend set by other hospitality businesses. Wetherspoon aims to stay competitive and is confident about a reasonable outcome for the year. However, forecasting remains challenging due to the significant rise in costs.

Top 10 Shareholders

The top 10 shareholders of JDW hold around 66.73% of the total shares. Martin (Timothy Randall) has the largest stake, owning about 24.86%. Fidelity Management & Research Company LLC follows with an 8.07% shareholding, as shown in the chart below.

Price Information

The stock price of JDW has increased by approximately 5.26% in the last month. However, over the past 6 months, it has decreased by around 16.55%. The stock's 52-week low and high are GBX 590.00 and GBX 864.50, respectively. As of 3 December 2024, the stock closed at GBX 640.0, which is below the average of the 52-week high and low.

Note 1: Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
Note 2: The reference data for all price data, currency, technical indicators, support, and resistance levels is 03 December 2024. The reference data in this report has been partly sourced from EODHD/Others.