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Investing.com -- Whitbread Plc (LON:WTB), the U.K.-based hotel operator, on Thursday reported a softer first-quarter performance, missing several analyst estimates and sending its shares down over 2%.
The group’s total revenue for Q1, ending May 29, stood at £710.9 million, below Jefferies’ forecast of £727 million.
In the U.K., revenue per available room (RevPAR) declined 2.4%, wider than Jefferies’ projected 1.3% drop.
U.K. accommodation sales totaled £485 million, short of the £492.7 million estimate, while food and beverage sales reached £163.2 million, missing the £171 million forecast.
Despite the weaker domestic figures, Premier Inn, Whitbread’s flagship brand, outperformed the wider U.K. market by 1.6 percentage points, largely due to London, where its RevPAR fell 5.5% compared to the market’s 7.9% decline.
Internationally, Whitbread’s German operations showed stronger growth, with RevPAR up 11.7%.
This fell short of Jefferies’ 15.2% forecast and Morgan Stanley’s 12.3% estimate. Germany’s accommodation sales reached £53.4 million, narrowly missing Jefferies’ £55 million target, while food and beverage sales matched estimates at £9.2 million.
Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS) expects Germany to reach profitability this year, with adjusted profit before tax guidance of £5–10 million for the division.
Whitbread reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance, targeting the addition of 1,000–1,200 new rooms in the U.K. and 400 in Germany.
Analysts maintain largely stable forecasts following the update. Morgan Stanley projects £460 million in profit before tax for FY2026, assuming a 2% decline in U.K. RevPAR and 10% growth in Germany, slightly below Visible Alpha’s £472 million consensus.
While Whitbread reported its forward bookings are ahead of last year and reiterated confidence in its ability to outperform the market, it did not provide specific trading figures for the current quarter, consistent with prior first-quarter updates.