All Bar One and O'Neill's bar chains owner Mitchells and Butlers saw a pick-up in year-on-year like-for-like sales growth at the end of 2011, thanks, in part, to better weather at the end of 2011 than was experienced at the end of 2010.

Like-for-like (LFL) sales in the nine weeks to January 21st, 2012, were up 6.5% on the corresponding period a year earlier, pushing up the LFL sales improvement in the first 17 weeks of the group's financial year up to 4.4%.

"These results reflect a successful Christmas sales performance. Although assisted by better weather, they show that customers are still keen to treat themselves even in a difficult economic environment," claimed Executive Chairman Bob Ivell.

After the Christmas boost, however, it was back to business as usual with sales in January in line with the underlying trend of around 1% improvement first noted by Mitchells & Butlers (M&B) in July of last year.

In line with many of its peers, M&B is seeing faster growth in food sales than in what you and I would call booze and soft drinks sales, but which the industry refers to as "wet-led sales".

Food sales in the nine week period to January 21st were up 8.1% year-on-year (YOY), while drink sales were up by 5.4% YOY. Both of those rates represented improvements on the preceding eight week period; for the 17 weeks to January 21st, LFL food sales were up 5.1% YOY and drinks sales were up 4.3% YOY on a LFL basis.

Total company sales in the first 17 weeks, including the impact from major disposals last year, were up 1.3% YOY. In the same period, total sales for the retained estate were up 7.5% YOY.

Debt has been a problem for the company in the past, but has at least stabilised at around £1.9bn. Other challenges facing the company are fragile consumer confidence, increased raw material fuel bills and the tax man's continued milking of the cash cow that is the British pub.

"I am encouraged by the progress that we have already made in a number of areas to re-focus the operations and improve the guest experience," Ivell said, lapsing into marketing speak. "This gives me confidence in our ability to successfully develop and grow the business in the year ahead," he concluded.

Shares in the pubs group were unchanged after the trading update.

jh

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