Bid silence at 28m Wolves

A TIGHT-LIPPED David Thompson of Wolverhampton & Dudley struggled to keep the focus on the regional brewer's full-year results today as the market readied itself for a hostile bid from on-off stalker Robert Breare.

Thompson, managing director, chairman designate and leader of a possible management buyout, said: "We are effectively in a takeover period and I can't comment on anything other than the figures."

Following the integration of the Marston's and Mansfield breweries, turnover increased by 44% to 599 million, but like-for- like sales were 1.1% below last year's. Although the community pubs did well throughout the year, comparable sales at the managed pubs dropped in the second half as promotions were abandoned to protect margins.

Thompson highlighted a rise in comparable operating margins to 20.1% from 16.2% in the second half.

After 17.3 million of exceptional items and 16.4 million of goodwill, pre-tax profits came in at 28.1 million. At the operating level, profits were 29.5% higher than last year at 65 million, slightly above analysts' expectations.

A final dividend of 15.52p makes a total of 24.02p for the year, up 6.1%.

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