UK:Young’s brewery announces lower profit and tough prospects

The brewer and pub owner Young & Co reported a 3.3 % fall in first half profit and stated the second half of its financial year will be challenging as the beer consumption decreases, Reuters reported on November 10.

"The reductions in the consumer spending will make for a challenging second half and with the important Christmas trading period still to come, it remains too early to predict the outcome for the year as a whole," Chairman John Young stated.

The pretax profit fell to 4.9 million pounds in the six months to October 1, but revenue increased 2.7 % to 62.5 million pounds as its tenanted estates, food retail and cask ales performed well.

The group announced pretax profits were impacted by exceptional costs reflecting what it called major corporate activity in the period, including simplifying the company's share structure and transfer of its shares to trading on AIM.

Shares in the company, brewers of cask ales such as 'Waggle Dance' and 'St George's Ale' as well as bottled beers, were down 0.8 % at 2,380 pence by 1120 GMT, valuing it at around 254 million pounds.It said it would pay an interim dividend of 12 pence, up 5.3 % from the previous year.

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