Wetherspoon issues fourth profit warning in seven months

Pub chain blames worse-than-expected sales on rising costs for workers, food, energy and property taxes JD Wetherspoon has issued its fourth profit warning in seven months, with the pub chain blaming worse-than-expected sales, despite the World Cup, as it struggled with rising costs for food, workers, energy and property taxes. Shares in the pub chain tumbled as much as 10% on Wednesday as its chair, Tim Martin, said profits would fall short of forecasts when it reports full-year earnings in October. “Profits for the year are likely to be below market expectations, with marginally lower sales than anticipated in the final quarter, combined with higher costs in the areas of food, labour, repairs, energy and business rates,” he said in a statement. It marks the fourth profit warning this year from the company, which operates 793 pubs across the UK and Ireland. In a short trading update on Wednesday, JD Wetherspoon said like-for-like sales rose only 4% over the 12 weeks to 19 July. That is despite hopes for an uptick in sales linked to customers heading off to pubs to watch Fifa World Cup games. While pubs can usually count on the World Cup to increase demand for food and drinks, the