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JD Wetherspoon posts 4.1% rise in pre-tax profits JD Wetherspoon aims to triple breakfast and coffee sales
(about 1 hour later)
JD Wetherspoon, one of the UK's biggest pub chains, has seen its pre-tax profits rise 4.1% in the first half of its financial year to £37.5m. Pub chain JD Wetherspoon says it wants to triple its coffee and breakfast sales over the next 18 months.
Takings rose by 9% to £744.4m in the six months to 25 January. The company is cutting the price of coffee and breakfast in a bid to capture a greater share of the daytime dining market.
JD Wetherspoon's food sales rose 10.1%, suggesting that the company's focus on the daytime food and drinks market is delivering results. Wetherspoons is responding to increased competition from supermarkets, which are selling discounted drinks.
The company will cut the price of its filter coffee to 99p or less for its morning customers in around 880 pubs. Despite that, the pub chain's pre-tax profits rose 4.1% in the first half of its financial year to £37.5m.
JD Wetherspoon runs more than 920 pubs around the country. The company has also said that it will reduce the price of its breakfasts from next week. "Our profit was under pressure from areas which included increased competition from supermarkets and increased pay and bonuses for pub staff," said JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin.
"Our aim is to triple coffee and breakfast sales over the next 18 months," said JD Wetherspoon chairman Tim Martin. Overall sales rose by 9% to £744.4m.
Competition from supermarkets continues to weigh on the company's profits, according to its chairman. JD Wetherspoon's food sales rose 10.1% in the six months to 25 January.
"Our profit was under pressure from areas which included increased competition from supermarkets and increased pay and bonuses for pub staff," said Mr Martin. To boost that further it plans to offer filter coffee for 99p or less to its morning customers in around 880 of its pubs.
JD Wetherspoon has been criticised for employing 80% of its staff on zero-hours contracts. The pub chain, which employs 80% of its staff on zero-hours (no set hours guarantee) said that it has allocated £15.3m in bonuses and free shares to employees, up from £14m the previous year.
The pub chain has said that it has allocated £15.3m in bonuses and free shares to employees, up from £14m the previous year. 83% of the bonuses and shares were paid to its workers. It said that 83% of the bonuses and shares were paid to workers in its pubs.
Like-for-like bar sales increased 1.5%.