Fuller, Smith & Turner PLC on Wednesday reported an improvement in interim profit as it revealed it is on track to meet market expectations for the full-year.

In the six months to September 28, the London-based pub chain said pretax profit rose 95% to £29.0 million from £14.9 million the prior year, bolstered by the disposal of The Mad Hatter in July for £20 million.

On an adjusted basis, pretax profit rose 21% to £17.6 million from £14.5 million as Fuller reduced its utility costs through lower energy consumption and continued its focus on cost management.

Revenue for its first-half increased by 2.8% to £194.1 million from £188.8 million the prior year, as like-for-like sales in its managed pubs and hotels grew by 5.2%.

Drink like-for-like sales grew by 4.9% on-year, with Food like-for-like sales up by 5.5%.

Fuller said it is on track to meet market expectations for its full-year and increased its interim dividend by 12% to 7.41 pence from 6.63p the prior year.

Fuller shares were up 0.3% at 686.25p on Wednesday morning in London.

Fuller Chief Executive Simon Emeny said: ‘We have had a great start to the year - delivering on all five pillars of our strategy and ensuring that we succeed in our purpose, to create experiences that nourish the soul.

‘Following our strong first half results, we have continued to build on our momentum, with like-for- like sales for the 32-week period rising by 5.4%.

‘This sustained underlying performance, combined with the added benefit from our Lovely Pubs acquisition and encouraging Christmas bookings up 15%, provides us with confidence that we are on track to meet current market expectations for the financial year.’

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