Wetherspoon aims to break even this year amid cost pressures

Wetherspoon expects to break even this year if there are no further Covid-19 restrictions, but a fresh warning from the pub group on Wednesday over "considerable" cost pressures sent its shares 4 per cent lower.

The London-listed chain, which runs more than 800 pubs in Britain and Ireland, last reported an annual profit for the year ended July 2019 – before the pandemic.

Britain's hospitality sector is slowly recovering but it faces challenges from a cost of living crisis and Russia's invasion of Ukraine that has raised commodity prices and further hurt confidence.

Wetherspoon said it had returned to profitability and to a positive cash flow since March 13th, but like-for-like sales for the 13 weeks to April 24th were 4 per cent below the same period in 2019.

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"Since (Covid-19) restrictions ended, sales have improved ... and the company anticipates a continuing slow improvement," said chairman and founder, Tim Martin, an outspoken critic of Britain's handling of the pandemic. – Reuters