Costa boosts third quarter performance at Whitbread
Whitbread has said its Costa chain of coffee shops has delivered total sales growth of 12.5% and a like-for-like sales increase of 4.3% in its third quarter.
The company said the performance was supported by its new advertising and promotional campaigns and the timing of the quarter end, which included a strong start to the Christmas period.
The results mean that Costa grew its like-for-like sales by 3% in the 39 weeks to 1 December. Costa UK Retail system sales rose by 11.6% to £708 million.
Across the wider Whitbread business, which also includes Premier Inns, like-for-like and total sales increased by 1.9% and 8.3% respectively.
Alison Brittain, chief executive of Whitbread, said: “We continue to make good progress against our three-point strategic plan: to grow and innovate in our core UK businesses; to focus on our strengths to grow internationally; and to build the capability and platform to support future growth.”
Whitbread expects to open 230-250 net new Costa coffee shops worldwide and to install at least 1,500 new Costa Express machines, having already surpassed its previous guidance of 1,250 in the current financial year.
