Whitbread (WTB) Q3 2025 TU earnings summary

Executive summary

• Five-year plan targets at least £300 million incremental profit and over £2 billion in shareholder returns, with strong momentum in both the UK and Germany.

• Strategic priorities are advancing, with stable UK performance and strong growth in Germany; Premier Inn UK outperformed the midscale and economy sector.

• Q3 saw normalization of UK demand, with accommodation sales broadly in line with last year and 51% above FY2020; Germany delivered strong growth with accommodation sales up 23% and RevPAR up 20% year-over-year.

• Commercial initiatives and brand strength drove outperformance versus the market in both accommodation sales and RevPAR.

• Germany is on track for run-rate profitability this year.

Financial highlights

• Q3 Group sales were £763 million, down 2% year-over-year, reflecting expected UK F&B sales reduction.

• UK accommodation sales rose 2% year-over-year in the six weeks to January 9, 2025, with RevPAR flat; Q3 UK total sales were £695.1 million, down 3.8% year-over-year.

• Germany's accommodation sales surged 37% and RevPAR increased 28% to €53 in the six weeks to January 9, 2025; Q3 Germany total sales were €80.7 million, up 23.6%.

• Q3 UK F&B sales were down 13.6% to £162.4 million; Germany F&B sales up 26.6% to €11.3 million.

• £100 million share buy-back completed in November 2024.

Outlook and guidance

• No change to FY2025 guidance; UK and Germany trading in line with expectations.

• FY2026 net cost inflation for the UK expected at 2%-3% on a £1.7 billion cost base after £50 million efficiencies.

• Germany expected to reach profitability in FY2026 as estate and brand mature.

• Forward booking position for FY2026 is ahead of last year, with strong long-lead leisure bookings.

• Anticipate £15 million–£20 million reduction in net finance income in FY2026 due to lower cash and bond refinancing.