UK pub group Marston's says Christmas bookings ahead of year-ago levels

(Reuters) -Marston's said on Tuesday Christmas bookings were ahead of year-ago levels after the British pub group posted a lower-than-expected jump in annual profit.

Shares in the FTSE midcap company, which operates more than 1,400 pubs and bars, fell more than 2% in early trading. The industry is hoping to usher in customers as Britons gear up for the holiday season in a year blighted by a prolonged cost-of-living squeeze and gloomy macroeconomic outlook.

"We anticipate an improving outlook in which cost headwinds are largely abating and like-for-like sales are up over 7% since the year-end," Chair William Rucker said in a statement.

The pub chain, which has not declared a dividend since 2020, forecast 2% margin growth in the medium term after posting an underlying operating margin of 14.3% for the 2023 fiscal year.

Peel Hunt analysts wrote in a note that the company continued to "outperform the market", adding that energy costs and a significant proportion of food and drink costs were fixed for the current fiscal year.

The company, which has said it benefited from increased customer preference of premium lagers such as San Miguel and Birra Moretti rather than standard ones, is waiting for new CEO Justin Platt to take charge on Jan. 10 after Andrew Andrea stepped down from the top role last month.

The Wolverhampton-based company, which operates more than 1,400 pubs and bars largely in local communities across Britain, said its pre-tax profit in the year through Sept. 30 jumped 28% to 35.5 million pounds ($44.8 million), compared with LSEG estimates of 41.4 million pounds based on an average of seven analysts.

Last week, restaurant, pub and bar operator Mitchells & Butlers said it aims to rebuild margins to pre-pandemic levels as input costs ease, after posting a smaller-than-expected 8% fall in annual profit.

($1 = 0.7920 pounds)

(Reporting by Aby Jose Koilparambil in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Bernadette Baum)