Whitbread Confident on Margins, But Costs May Weigh -- Market Talk
Whitbread Confident on Margins, But Costs May Weigh -- Market Talk
0919 GMT - Shares in Whitbread gain 2.6% after the Premier Inn owner reported a narrower first-half pretax loss and said it was confident about returning to pre-pandemic U.K. profit margins. Still, the company is facing wage inflation as a result of rising labor shortages in the U.K. hospitality sector, which means it will have to boost pay significantly and pay out bonuses to attract enough staff, AJ Bell says. That's why Whitbread didn't provide a timescale on a return to pre-pandemic margins, the brokerage says. "At least the company has a strong balance sheet to help it meet staffing and supply-chain challenges," Bell analyst Russ Mould says. (philip.waller@wsj.com)
0919GMT-惠特布莱德的股价上涨2.6%，此前这家Premier Inn的所有者报告上半年税前亏损收窄，并表示有信心恢复到大流行前的英国利润率。AJ Bell说，尽管如此，由于英国酒店业劳动力短缺加剧，该公司仍面临工资上涨的问题，这意味着它将不得不大幅加薪并发放奖金，以吸引足够多的员工。该经纪公司表示，这就是惠特布莱德没有提供疫情前利润率恢复的时间表的原因。贝尔公司分析师拉斯·莫尔德说：“至少该公司拥有强大的资产负债表，可以帮助它应对人员配备和供应链方面的挑战。”(Philip.waller@wsj.com)