UK's Mitchells & Butlers HY revenue rises, adjusted oper profit flat

Mitchells & Butlers

21/05/2026 07:11

Overview

UK restaurant and pub operator's half-year revenue grew 2.5% yr/yr to £1,490 mln

Adjusted operating profit held steady at £181 mln despite inflationary cost headwinds

Company says disciplined cost control and efficiency initiatives helped sustain profits

Outlook

Company anticipates FY 2026 cost headwinds of about £120m, slightly lower than prior guidance

Mitchells & Butlers expects FY 2027 cost headwinds to normalise at around £95m

Company expects capital expenditure for the year to increase to c.£230m

Result Drivers

SALES GROWTH - Like-for-like sales rose 3.3% in H1, with strong performances across the brand portfolio and particularly robust trading during the festive season and key dates

COST INFLATION - Significant inflationary cost headwinds, mainly from labour and food, weighed on margins, but profits were maintained through disciplined cost control and efficiency initiatives

EFFICIENCY PROGRAMMES - Operational efficiencies and technology investments, including the Ignite programme and new labour scheduling systems, helped offset cost pressures and support stable profits

Company press release: ID:nRSU1652Fa

Key Details

Metric
Beat/Miss
Actual
Consensus Estimate
H1 Revenue
GBP 1.49 bln
H1 EPS
GBP 0.18
H1 Operating Margin
12.40%
H1 Operating Profit
GBP 185 mln
H1 Pretax Profit
GBP 143 mln


Analyst Coverage

The current average analyst rating on the shares is "buy" and the breakdown of recommendations is 8 "strong buy" or "buy", 2 "hold" and no "sell" or "strong sell"

The average consensus recommendation for the restaurants & bars peer group is "buy"

Wall Street's median 12-month price target for Mitchells & Butlers PLC is GBp352.50, about 39.6% above its May 20 closing price of GBp252.50

The stock recently traded at 8 times the next 12-month earnings vs. a P/E of 8 three months ago

For questions concerning the data in this report, contact Estimates.Support@lseg.com. For any other questions or feedback, contact reuters.support@thomsonreuters.com.

(This story was created using Reuters automation and AI based on LSEG and company data. It was checked and edited by a Reuters journalist prior to publication.)