Retail EBIT fell 1.2 per cent to $658 million, missing some analysts’ expectations.
Its 354 hotel businesses (including five managed clubs) surged back to life in its first period of unrestricted trading since 2019. Sales jumped 31 per cent to $2 billion over the 2023 year, and EBIT also gained strongly by nearly 36 per cent to $428 million.
Chief executive Steve Donohue said disciplined cost management has remained a key focus through the year, enabling the group to effectively address economy-wide inflationary pressures. The company delivered $60 million in cost savings over the year.
He noted that food and beverage sales have been strong with both volumes and average selling prices showing year-on-year growth.
Endeavour Group CEO Steve Donohue says the hotels business came back to life in its first unrestricted period since the pandemic hit 2019.
“Gaming was the first part of the business to recover post-pandemic and therefore was the lowest growth driver in the F23 financial year,” he said.
He said pubs and clubs ramped up live events and entertainment, with 487 events hosted during the year – a 59 per cent increase over the year before as part of the lure to get people back in the doors.
Mr Donohue said he was happy with the positive momentum in the first six weeks of trade of 2024 which continues to be led by food and bars with customer demand remaining stable.
“Our hotels remain well positioned as an affordable destination for social occasions,” he added.
The board declared a final dividend of 7.5¢ per share, payable on September 27. This is lower than a year ago at 7.7¢ per share. But total dividends for the year reached 21.8¢, up 7.9 per cent from a year ago.
Endeavour is the largest owner of poker machines in Australia, and the third-largest gaming operator after Crown Resorts and The Star.
It has recently appointed advisory Luminis Partners, with speculation mounting that it could make a play for House of Arras sparkling wine business and the Bay of Fires brand – both put on the market by Accolade Wines. Endeavour also has retained bankers at Citi, who are long-term providers of advice.
Endeavour has been buying small wineries as part of its growth strategy. It acquired Shingleback Wine in South Australia’s McLaren Vale in August 2022 and the high-profile Cape Mentelle Winery in the Margaret River, from France’s LVMH in May. It also owns Chapel Hill Wines which it acquired in 2019.
Mr Donohue said while its wine business is not immune to consumers putting a brake on spending trading has been “resilient” across the fourth quarter of 2023 and into the first six weeks of the new financial year.
More to come