FDBusiness.com

Helped by growth in its sales of food and premium ales, Marston’s has increased underlying pre-tax profit by 4.6% to £73.5m on revenue up 0.9% to £650.7m for the year ended October 2nd last. The British brewer and pub operator also managed to reduce debt by £17.1m to £1.08b during the year.

Operating profit fell in the tenanted and leased pubs division but was up in the managed pubs business. Marston’s Beer Company increased underlying profit 1.3% to £16.2m and revenue by 4.5% to £106.1m.

“We have adapted well to market conditions and trends,” says Ralph Findlay (pictured), chief executive of Marston’s. “We are benefiting from our focused, differentiated strategy as demonstrated by our robust results in 2010 and a strong start to the new financial year. Our plans are affordable, deliverable, and target sustainable growth and strong returns in the future.”