Greene King shares up despite falling profits

FTSE 250 pub operator and brewer Greene King (LON:GNK) has seen its share price rise by 2.86% to 596.60p (as of 13:30 BST) despite posting a 12.5% drop in statutory pre-tax profits for the year ended 28th April. Revenues were up by 1.8% with pub revenues driving the gains and helped by a warm summer and the World Cup.

Chief executive Nick Mackenzie commented: “The business delivered good results last year, regaining trading momentum in Pub Company and returning to market outperformance while fulfilling a strong cost mitigation programme and making further progress refinancing the Spirit debenture. The existing strategy we have in place has led the business through challenging times. I am looking forward to building on Greene King’s strong foundations with a focus on innovation, on developing our people and on customer service to further enhance our brands and deliver sustainable growth for our shareholders“.