Investors on the look-out for sales and dividend ahead of Greene King results

The City will be looking to see whether Greene King can maintain its dividend this week, with interim results set to reveal whether the pub and brewing giant has been able to carry its bumper summer spell of higher sales into the autumn trading period.

Analysts have forecasted that full-year sales will reach £2.17bn in the company’s interim results this week, as shareholders hope that the 219 year-old brewer can prolong its record of dividend growth that stretches back decades.

Prolonged hot weather and a successful World Cup run for the England football team helped to bolster sales over the summer for Greene King.

The brewer said it sold 3.7m pints of beer in total during England’s seven World Cup soccer matches, with sales on the day of the team’s semi-final against Croatia up 61 per cent compared to the same day a year ago.

The interim results, set to be posted on Thursday, come several weeks after Greene King boss Rooney Anand revealed plans to leave the pub and brewing company in 2019, having doubled the size of the firm in his 14 years at the helm.

Nicholas Hyett, an equity analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “Hot weather and the World Cup boosted Greene King’s performance in the summer, and we’d like to see how sales have done without those handy tailwinds. Long serving chief executive Rooney Anand recently announced he’s stepping down, so it’s also a time of change at the group. A tough consumer environment means there’s a lot at stake in that change, not least a track record of dividend growth that stretches back decades.”

He added: “The group’s targeting substantial savings as it fends off competition in the crowded casual dining space. Plans to offset gross cost inflation of around £45-50m were on track in the first quarter, and we’ll be looking to make sure that’s still the case.”