Pub and restaurant group Mitchells & Butlers has returned to profit for 2011 despite a challenging year with board changes and a failed takeover attempt.
The company, which owns brands including Harvester, All Bar One, Nicholson's and O'Neill's, made a pre-tax profit of £132m, compared to a pre-tax loss of £127m the previous year.
Revenue was also up from £1.68b to £1.76b. Like-for-like sales were up 2.6% with like-for-like food sales up by 4.8%.
Bob Ivell, executive chairman, said: "This is a resilient set of results despite a challenging year with a difficult consumer environment, board changes and a takeover approach. Mitchells & Butlers is a good business and our ambition is to make it a great business."
Food is M&B's largest-selling revenue stream, having grown by 30% over the past four years, and has helped generate a 16% rise in profits per site over the same period. Average weekly sales per site stand at £22,000, with annual profitability per site up at £180,000.
Last month billionaire Joe Lewis, who already owns 23% of the company, attempted to buy the rest of the group, but called off his attempts after an indicative offer was rejected.
Joe Lewis drops bid for Mitchells & Butlers >>
Mitchells & Butlers sees sales growth slow >>
Mitchells & Butlers rebuffs takeover offer from shareholder Joe Lewis >>
By Neil Gerrard
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