Greene King (GNK) has posted a 6.9% rise in annual revenues to record high of £2.22bn in the year to 30 April 2017, but warned over the UK’s economic prospects.

Revenue growth was driven by good performance from the underlying business and by the additional seven weeks of Spirit trading in comparison with last year.

Adjusted profit before tax was up 6.6% to £273.5m, but reported pre-tax profits slipped 2.6% to £184.9m.

EBITDA surpassed £500m for the first time in the company’s history, reaching £524.1m, up 5.5% on last year.

Operating profit before exceptional and non-underlying items was up 4.9% at £411.5m while operating margin decreased 0.3%pts to 18.6% as the positive contribution from Spirit

Synergies were offset by brand conversion costs and the more challenging cost environment.

Its Pub Company division saw life-for-like growth of 1.5%, with total sales up by 7.7%, while its Pub Partners division saw revenues grow 5.8%.

Brewing & Brands achieved revenue of £200.3m in the year, up 1.7%. Own brewed volume was down 2.8%, in line with the total ale market and beating the cask ale market. Its share of the UK cask ale market was 10.3%.

CEO Rooney Anand said: “Greene King has delivered another set of record results, generating full year EBITDA of over £500m for the first time. The team has worked hard to maintain momentum during the period and successfully completed the integration of Spirit a year ahead of schedule. This has led to a stronger, more competitive business with an industry-leading portfolio of brands.

“Our performance has been achieved against a demanding backdrop of increased costs, weaker consumer confidence and increasing competition. While I expect these challenges to intensify over the next few years, Greene King has a very strong track record of delivery in tough market conditions.

“Using the scale that the Spirit acquisition has brought, we will continue towards our aim of being the best pub company in Britain. We will achieve this goal by ensuring we have the best brands, the best invested estate and the best people in the industry. We will target further market outperformance, in a growing market, supported by additional cost efficiencies, a robust balance sheet and strong cash generation to deliver long-term growth and attractive returns for our shareholders.”

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