Whitbread reported consensus-aligned revenue in H1 but better-than-expected profitability. The UK business continued to outperform the local sub-segment and the losses in the German activities narrowed. The FY guidance has been maintained, supported by buoyant trading trends. While higher capex is expected, the majority of the additional expenses will be auto-funded. The raised dividend and an additional of £300m buy-backs also testify to the group’s optimism. We have upgraded our P&L estimates ....
