Marston's (MARS) H2 2025 earnings summary

Executive summary

• Achieved profit before tax of £72.1 million, up 71% year-on-year, with recurring free cash flow of £53.2 million delivered ahead of schedule.

• Launched 31 new pub formats and digital initiatives, driving strong revenue uplifts, record guest satisfaction, and operational improvements.

• Positioned for continued growth in FY2026, with accelerated format roll-out and strong trading outlook.

Financial highlights

• Total revenue was £898 million, broadly flat year-on-year, with like-for-like growth of 1.6%.

• EBITDA increased 7% to £205.1 million, with margin expanding by 140 basis points to 22.8%.

• Operating profit rose 8.6% to £159.9 million, with £12.6 million of EBITDA improvement flowing through.

• Net debt/EBITDA reduced to 4.6x from 5.2x, with net debt (excl. leases) at £837.5 million.

• Net asset value per share increased to £1.25, with net assets up 21% to £791 million.

Outlook and guidance

• Confident in FY2026 trading outlook, with like-for-like sales tracking in line with last year and Christmas bookings up 11%.

• Targeting further EBITDA margin expansion towards 23.4%-24.4%, with at least 50 new format refurbishments planned.

• Recurring free cash flow expected to exceed £50 million again in FY2026.

• Continued deleveraging towards sub-4x net debt/EBITDA, after which shareholder returns will resume.