Mitchells & Butlers Shares Jump: Serves Up Strong Full Year Results, Outpacing Market Expectations

Mitchells & Butlers (LON: MAB), a leading operator of managed restaurants and pubs, announced robust full-year results for the 52 weeks ended September 27, 2025, demonstrating strong trading ahead of the market.

The company's performance has seen its share price jump in early Friday trading.

Revenue reached £2,711 million, up from £2,610 million in FY 2024. Operating profit climbed to £322 million, compared to £300 million in the previous year. Profit before tax also saw a significant increase, rising to £238 million from £199 million. Basic earnings per share increased to 29.7p from 25.0p.

Adjusted operating profit increased to £330 million from £312 million. Adjusted earnings per share rose to 30.9p from 26.4p. These figures highlight the underlying strength of the business and its ability to generate improved profitability.

The company has successfully reduced its net debt (excluding leases) by £146 million to £843 million. Net asset value per share also increased, reaching 476p compared to 433p in the prior year. A pension surplus was used to offset ongoing defined contribution contributions, equating to approximately £10 million per annum.

Mitchells & Butlers attributes its success to strong performances across all market segments, an accelerated capital program delivering strong returns, and record non-financial metrics related to guest, employee, and safety scores.

Like-for-like sales grew by 4.3%, outperforming the market across all segments as measured by the CGA Business Tracker. This growth was supported by broadly flat volumes across the period. Disciplined cost control, further efficiencies from the Ignite program, and strong returns from capital investments contributed to a 5.8% increase in adjusted operating profit.

Current trading remains solid, with like-for-like sales up 3.8% in the first eight weeks of FY 2026. The company expects to maintain its market outperformance, exceeding the forecasted 2.4% growth in the UK eating out market for 2026, according to Lumina Intelligence.

The company anticipates cost headwinds of approximately £130 million in FY 2026, representing slightly less than 6% of its cost base before mitigation. These headwinds are driven by the annualization of labor cost increases, further increases in statutory thresholds, and increased food cost inflation. The company believes its strong market position and the success of its Ignite improvement program will enable it to continue outperforming the sector and mitigate these increases.

Phil Urban, Chief Executive, commented, “We are pleased to report another year of strong performance. Like-for-like sales continued to outperform the market across all segments, reinforcing the strength of our strategy and market positioning. Combined with disciplined operational execution, this delivered robust profit growth mitigating sector-wide cost headwinds.”