Whitbread: shares up after Q3 trading update

(CercleFinance.com) - Britain's Whitbread posted sales that are up 6.
8% over the first nine months of its fiscal year, helped by strong demand for hotel rooms and its Costa coffee chain.

The company, which owns Premier Inn hotels, said on Thursday that like-for-like sales rose 1.8% in the nine months to 30 November, including 0.3% growth in Q3.

The company said Costa had a "strong" third-quarter growth of 7.2% in the UK, driven by new stores and the expansion of its Costa Express coffee machines program.

Whitbread's CEO Alison Brittain said the firm has made "good progress" in executing its strategy.

"This growth, combined with the results from our group-wide efficiency programme, means that we are on track to achieve expectations for the full year," she said.

London-listed Whitbread shares are currently up 3% at 3,969 pence.


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