Endeavour Group has posted its first quarter results with group sales up over three per cent to $3.03bn, with retail sales down 6.2 per cent to $2.49bn and hotel sales up 90.8 per cent on the prior year to $538m.
That rebound in bars and food was described as “particularly strong” with food becoming the fastest growing category in recent months compared to the 2020 financial year.
Endeavour Group Managing Director and CEO, Steve Donohue, said: “First quarter sales have accelerated in our Hotels, while our Retail brands have continued their market leadership as we cycle the unique peaks of COVID-19 lockdowns in place at the same period last year.
“Pleasingly, on a three-year basis we are trading well ahead in both Hotels and Retail. Our headline sales in Retail are up 13.9 per cent compared to Q1 F20, which represents a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 4.4 per cent. Our hotels result was equally strong, with a three-year CAGR of 4.8 per cent.
“Our hotels are thriving, as Australians embrace both large and small social occasions after years of COVID-19 disruption. There has been a rebound across all hospitality categories, with Bars, Food, Gaming and Accommodation all performing strongly. Live entertainment is also becoming a feature of our business again, with music fans enjoying a range of sold-out gigs across our hotels.”
“We’ve also seen consistent, strong sales in Retail. Our year-on-year comparison shows a predictable decline as we cycle the unique spikes in demand created by COVID-19 restrictions that particularly affected key population centres of New South Wales and Victoria this time last year. This cycling impact is easing as we head into the second quarter.
“Central to this success is our focus on our customers and continuous innovation in our offer and service. My Dan’s active members grew to 4.7 million in the quarter up from 4.5 million at the end of F22, demonstrating the value we are delivering for customers as we increasingly tailor their experiences via personalised offers.
“As we head towards the end of 2022, we’re prepared for a big Christmas season. It will be the first, restriction-free festive season in three years. Function bookings are already strong in our hotels, and we have a good supply of a great range of products to meet all tastes, trends and price points in our retail offers over the holiday season.”
During the quarter, Endeavour renewed five Dan Murphy’s stores and 27 BWS stores as well as adding one new Dan Murphy’s store and seven (net) new BWS stores, of which six were associated with the acquisition of three hotels.