Preliminary Results

Wetherspoon (JD) PLC
7 September 2001

                             J D WETHERSPOON PLC

                                PRESS RELEASE


 J D Wetherspoon plc announces preliminary results for the year ended 29 July
                                    2001.


                                  Highlights


*        Turnover up 31% to £484.0m

*        Profits before tax up 23% to £44.3m

*        Earnings per share up 18% to 19.9p (before adoption of FRS19 deferred
taxation)

*        Earnings per share up 20% to 14.2p (after adoption of FRS19 deferred
taxation)

*        Free cash flow per share up 20% to 29.1p

*        Dividend per share increased by 10% to 2.93p

*        Like for like sales increased by 7.5%

*        94 pubs opened

Commenting on the results, Tim Martin, the chairman of J D Wetherspoon plc,
said:



'I am pleased to report another year of good progress for Wetherspoon. Sales
increased by £114.3 million to £484.0 million, a rise of 31%.



Free cash flow after payments of tax, interest and capital investment in
existing pubs increased by 24% to £61.2 million, resulting in a free cash flow
per share of 29.1p before investment in new pubs, loan repayments and payment
of dividends.



We opened 94 pubs during the year, compared with 91 in the previous year,
excluding the 10 Lloyds pubs purchased from Wolverhampton and Dudley brewery
in the previous year. The total number of pubs operated by us is now 530
including 8 opened since the year end.



As a result of another good trading performance, I remain confident of our
future prospects.'



Enquiries:


Tim Martin             Chairman                                    01923 477777
John Hutson            Managing Director                           01923 477777
Jim Clarke             Finance Director                            01923 477777
Eddie Gershon          Press Office                                07956 392234



Photographs are available at: www.newscast.co.uk


CHAIRMAN'S STATEMENT



I am pleased to report another year of good progress for Wetherspoon. Sales
increased by £114.3 million to £484.0 million, a rise of 31%. Operating
profit, excluding sale and leaseback rentals, increased by 22% to £66.1
million, and profit before tax rose by 23% to £44.3 million.  Earnings per
share, before the adoption of a full provision for deferred taxation under the
new accounting standard FRS19, increased by 18% to 19.9p. Allowing for the
adoption of FRS19, restated earnings per share increased by 20% to 14.2p.



The company currently has a low rate of tax of 5% as a result of tax relief
available on capital investment. The effect of FRS19 is to provide in the
profit and loss account for the full tax charge even though it is not paid out
in cash. This has the effect of reducing the stated earnings per share but has
no effect on our cashflow. The other main effect is to reduce our net assets
in the balance sheet by the amount of deferred tax on past profits, resulting
in a rise in gearing as indicated below.



Capital investment was £150.6 million, and net gearing at the year end, after
accounting for the effect of FRS19, was 88% (2000: 69% as restated for FRS19).
Interest was covered 4.2 times (2000: 4.5 times) by operating profit.
Operating margins before depreciation, interest, sale & leaseback rentals and
tax were 19.8%, compared with 20.3% last year. This reduction principally
reflects higher labour costs and slightly lower gross margins, partly offset
by proportionately lower head office costs. Cash profits per pub on this basis
increased marginally from the previous year to £206,000.



Free cash flow after payments of tax, interest and capital investment of £15.8
million in existing pubs increased by 24% to £61.2 million, resulting in a
cash flow per share of 29.1p before investment in new pubs, loan repayments
and dividends paid.



Economic profit calculated by adding depreciation to profit before tax and
subtracting capital expenditure on existing pubs, increased by 37% to £58.2
million, with capital investment in existing pubs at 3.3% of turnover,
compared with 3.9% of turnover in the previous period. Economic profit margins
increased from 11.5% to 12.0%.



Dividends

The board proposes, subject to shareholders' consent, to pay a final dividend
of 1.93p net on 30 November 2001 to those shareholders on the register at 28
September 2001, bringing the total dividend for the year to 2.93p, a 10%
increase on the previous year. At this level, dividends will be covered 4.8
times by earnings, compared with 4.4 times in 2000. A scrip alternative will
again be offered to shareholders.



Finance

The company had £74.8 million of unutilised banking facilities and cash
balances at the balance sheet date. Subsequent to the year end, £40 million of
new banking facilities have been agreed with repayments over a period between
5 and 10 years. These new facilities, coupled with our strong organic cash
flow, underpin the company's expansion plans for the foreseeable future.



Further progress

We opened 94 pubs during the year, compared with 91 in the previous year,
excluding the 10 Lloyds pubs purchased from Wolverhampton and Dudley brewery
in the previous year. The total number of pubs operated by us is now 530,
including 8 opened since the year end.



As in recent years the pubs are located in a variety of locations in large and
small towns and cities. Sales at the new pubs have been very encouraging,
including the first five which have opened in Northern Ireland.



The original 10 Lloyds pubs have now been operated by Wetherspoon for just
over a year and sales have approximately doubled. If this improvement is
sustained in the next few months, this will confirm our belief that there is
the potential for a considerable number of Lloyds sites in the country, in
addition to our plans for new Wetherspoon pubs, since Lloyds seem to
complement trade at existing Wetherspoon outlets.



After like-for-like sales growth of 8.6% in 1998/99 and a further 12.4% in
1999/2000, like-for-like sales increased by an additional 7.5% in the current
year and like-for-like profits increased by 7.0%.



We believe that the strategy that we have pursued in recent years of improving
the real wages of our staff, combined with competitive bar and food prices, is
the right one for the company. This has resulted in strong increases over this
period in cash profits per pub in spite of a slight decline in margins,
combined with a reduction in the percentage of pub managers, and other staff,
leaving the company; this percentage is now at its lowest level ever. Bonuses
paid to people working in our pubs amounted to £10.2 million compared with £
8.5 million in the previous year.





We continue to try to upgrade every area of the business, endeavouring, for
example, to improve our buying terms as we grow; to upgrade our IT and
management systems; to enhance training courses for our people and to modify
and improve the design of our pubs.



We also continue to review our product range and, in association with Cask
Marque, the quality control system developed by a number of brewers, we are
offering a try before you buy scheme to encourage customers to try guest ales
from micro and regional brewers. We believe that sales of these beers,
neglected by many managed pub companies, will be a key area of growth for the
future.





The economy

An important issue facing all businesses is whether Britain should support the
euro. As indicated in previous years I strongly believe that each major
currency in the world is backed by a single government and that this is a
pre-requisite for economic success. For this reason, I feel that the euro is
likely to fail and that it would be extremely unwise for Britain to join. The
non-political 'No' group, which advocates retention of the pound, is launching
a campaign in our pubs today urging the public to vote against the euro in the
event of a referendum.



Other legislation

The Government has recently indicated that it intends to transfer
responsibility for liquor licensing from magistrates courts to local
authorities. This move is opposed by 80% of individual licensees in the trade,
according to market research carried out by us. Where local authorities, which
are heavily burdened with many tasks, currently control aspects of licensing,
it is more expensive and slower than the areas operated by magistrates. Given
the Government's commitment to a reduction in bureaucracy and red tape there
is no rational reason for this transfer of authority.



The Government has argued that allowing local authorities control of licensing
is more 'democratic'. The absurdity of this argument is underlined by the fact
that appeals under the new system will be to magistrates who will, therefore,
still be the ultimate authority for licensing, although only after the delay
and expense of an appeal.



If local authority control of licensing is introduced, it  will result in
higher costs and a slower licensing process but I do not believe that it will
affect our overall prospects. It will, however, inevitably increase the price
of beer in pubs, restaurants and off-licences. Given the disparity in alcohol
duty between Britain and France, the proposed changes risk further eroding the
competitiveness of a very important industry.



People

Once again, I would like to thank sincerely all our employees, partners and
suppliers in helping to ensure yet another year of record profits for
Wetherspoon.



Prospects

Like-for-like sales increased by 7% in August (following growth of 5% in
August 2000) and total company sales increased by 29% over the same period
last year. The encouraging sales growth in recently opened pubs has also
continued, with a promising start from the 8 pubs opened since the period end.



We have 25 sites in the course of construction, 61 with the necessary
permissions for development,  a further 65 on which terms have been agreed and
170 currently in negotiation. The high levels of competition for sites from
pub competitors continue to reduce and this makes prospects in this area of
the business particularly encouraging.



As a result of another good trading performance, I remain confident of our
future prospects.






Tim Martin

Chairman

7 September 2001





Profit and loss account

for the year ended 29 July 2001


                                          Notes           2001             2000

                                                          £000             £000

                                                                     (Restated)

Turnover                                               483,968          369,628
Operating profit                            2           58,380           46,278
Net interest payable                        3         (14,063)         (10,226)
Profit on ordinary activities before                    44,317           36,052
taxation
Tax on profit on ordinary activities        4         (14,457)         (11,996)
Profit on ordinary activities after                     29,860           24,056
taxation
Dividends                                   5          (6,185)          (5,599)
Retained profit for the year                            23,675           18,457

Earnings per ordinary share                 6            14.2p            11.8p

Fully diluted earnings per ordinary share   6            14.0p            11.5p



All activities relate to continuing operations.



Statement of total recognised gains and losses


                                                           2001            2000

                                                           £000            £000

                                                                      (Restated)

Profit for the financial year after taxation               29,860        24,056
Prior year adjustment arising from the adoption of       (35,688)               
-
FRS19 deferred taxation
Total (losses)/ gains recognised since previous           (5,828)        24,056
year end



Note of historical cost profits


                                                           2001            2000

                                                           £000            £000

                                                                      (Restated)

Reported profit on ordinary activities before taxation    44,317          36,052
Difference between historical cost depreciation charge       670             672
and actual

depreciation charge for the year calculated on the
revalued amount
Historical cost profit on ordinary activities before      44,987          36,724
taxation
Historical cost profit for the year retained after        24,345          19,129
taxation and dividends



Refer to note 14 in respect of the restatement of the comparative figures.

Cash flow statement

for the year ended 29 July 2001




                          Notes        2001                    2000

                                       £000        £000        £000        £000

Net cash inflow from        7        93,005      93,005      76,165      76,165
operating activities

Returns on investments
and servicing of finance
Interest received                      976          976       2,412       2,412
Interest paid - existing          (15,436)     (15,436)    (13,710)    (13,710)
pubs
Interest paid and                  (3,004)                  (3,921)
capitalised into new pubs
Net cash outflow from             (17,464)                 (15,219)
returns on investment and
servicing of finance


Taxation
Corporation tax paid               (1,556)      (1,556)     (1,100)     (1,100)

Capital expenditure and
financial investment
Purchase of tangible              (15,792)     (15,792)    (14,471)    (14,471)
fixed assets for existing
pubs
Purchase of own shares               (241)                       -
for ESOP trust
Proceeds of sale of                     -                     4,277
tangible fixed assets
Investment in new pubs           (127,574)                (136,612)
and pub extensions
Net cash outflow from            (143,607)                (146,806)
capital expenditure and
financial investment

Equity dividends paid              (4,529)                  (3,785)


Net cash outflow before           (74,151)                 (90,745)
financing


Financing
Issue of ordinary shares             2,057                  46,566
Advances under bank loans           40,156                 124,353
Advances under US senior                44                  86,815
loan notes
Repayments of secured                    -               (187,882)
bank loans
Net cash inflow from                42,257                  69,852
financing

Decrease in cash            9     (31,894)                (20,893)

Free cash flow              6                    61,197                  49,296
                            

Cash flow per ordinary      6                     29.1p                   24.2p 
share




Balance sheet

at 29 July 2001




                                           Notes           2001            2000

                                                           £000            £000

                                                                      (Restated)

Fixed assets
Tangible assets                             10          625,903         504,996

Current assets
Stocks                                                    7,503           4,686
Debtors due after more than                               6,986           5,588
one year
Debtors due within one year                               6,764           7,378
Investments                                                 241             100
Cash                                                      9,791          41,685
                                                         31,285          59,437
Creditors due within one year               11         (81,965)        (67,936)
Net current liabilities                                (50,680)         (8,499)
Total assets less current                               575,223         496,497
liabilities
Creditors due after more than               12        (253,581)       (213,979)
one year
Provisions for liabilities and              13         (47,803)        (35,688)
charges
Total net assets                                        273,839         246,830


Capital and reserves
Called up share capital                                   4,224           4,198
Share premium account                                   116,389         113,081
Revaluation reserve                                      23,824          24,494
Profit and loss account                                 129,402         105,057
Equity shareholders' funds                  14          273,839         246,830











Tim Martin

Jim Clarke

Directors







Refer to note 14 in respect of the restatement of the comparative figures.

Notes



1  These preliminary statements do not constitute statutory accounts
within the meaning of Section 240 of the Companies Act 1985.  They have,
however, been extracted from the statutory accounts for the periods ending 29
July 2001 and 30 July 2000 (as restated for the adoption of FRS19 deferred
taxation: see note 14) on which unqualified reports were made by the company's
auditors.



The 2000 statutory accounts have been filed with the Registrar of Companies.
The 2001 statutory accounts will be sent to shareholders on 3 October 2001 and
will be filed with the Registrar of Companies following their adoption at the
forthcoming Annual General Meeting.



 2  Analysis of continuing operations
                                               2001                        2000

                                               £000                        £000

Turnover                                    483,968                     369,628
Cost of sales                             (401,800)                   (304,344)
Gross profit                                 82,168                      65,284
Administrative expenses                    (23,788)                    (19,006)
Operating profit                             58,380                      46,278



Cost of sales includes distribution costs and all pub operating costs.



3  Net interest payable
                                                        2001               2000

                                                        £000               £000

Interest payable on bank loans and overdraft          11,761             11,767
Interest payable on US senior loan notes               6,528              5,526
Less:
Interest capitalised                                 (2,979)            (3,846)
Interest receivable                                  (1,247)            (3,221)
Charge to profit and loss account                     14,063             10,226






4  Taxation


The company has opted to adopt FRS19 deferred taxation in the current year.
Accordingly the tax charge for 2000 has been restated to reflect the position
had the company accounted for deferred tax on a fully provided basis in that
year. The full impact on reserves is detailed in note 14.



Analysis of current period tax charge


Current tax                    2001        2001            2000            2000

                               £000        £000            £000            £000

                                                      (Restated)      (Restated)
UK corporation tax on profits 
for the year at 30%           5,906                       2,342
Adjustments in respect of     (863)                        (66)
prior years
Advance corporation tax     (2,701)                       (491)
Total current tax                         2,342                           1,785


Deferred tax

Origination and reversal of  12,115                      10,211
timing differences

Total deferred tax                       12,115                          10,211



Tax on profit on ordinary                14,457                          11,996
activities




5  Dividends
                                                           2001            2000

                                                           £000            £000

Interim paid of 1.00p per share (2000: 0.91p)             2,109           1,904
Final proposed of 1.93p per share (2000: 1.76p)           4,076           3,695
                                                          6,185           5,599



6 Earnings and cash flow per share

The calculation of basic earnings per share is based on profits on ordinary
activities after taxation for the period of £29,860,000 (2000: £24,056,000)
and on 210,542,854 (2000: 204,035,428) ordinary shares, being the weighted
average number of ordinary shares in issue and ranking for dividend during the
period.



Fully diluted earnings per share has been calculated in accordance with FRS14
and is after allowing for the dilutive effect of the conversion into ordinary
shares of the weighted average number of options outstanding during the
period.  The number of shares used for the fully diluted calculation is
213,486,301 (2000: 208,311,375).



The calculation of free cash flow per share is based on the net cash generated
by business activities and available for investment in new pub developments
and extensions to existing pubs, after funding interest on existing pubs, tax
and all other reinvestment in pubs open at the start of the period ('free cash
flow'). It is calculated before taking account of proceeds from property
disposals, inflows and outflows of financing from outside sources and dividend
payments and is based on the same number of shares in issue as for the
calculation of basic earnings per share.




7  Net cash inflow from operating activities
                                                        2001               2000

                                                        £000               £000

Operating profit                                      58,380             46,278
Depreciation of tangible fixed assets                 29,674             20,946
Change in stocks                                     (2,817)              (841)
Change in debtors                                      (409)                779
Change in creditors                                    8,177              9,003
                                                      93,005             76,165



8 Reconciliation of net cash flow to movement in net debt


                                                      2001                 2000

                                                      £000                 £000

Decrease in cash in the year                      (31,894)             (20,893)
Cash inflow from increase in debt financing       (40,200)             (23,286)
Movement in net debt during the period            (72,094)             (44,179)
Opening net debt                                 (169,483)            (125,304)
Closing net debt                                 (241,577)            (169,483)



9 Analysis of net debt


                                2000          Cash flow                    2001

                                £000               £000                    £000

Cash at bank and in hand      41,685           (31,894)                   9,791

Debt due after one year    (211,168)           (40,200)               (251,368)

Net debt                   (169,483)           (72,094)               (241,577)




10  Tangible fixed assets


                        Freehold     Short    Equipment,   Expenditure     Total
                        land and leasehold      fixtures   on unopened
                       buildings  land and           and    properties
                                 buildings      fittings
                            £000      £000          £000          £000      £000
Cost or
valuation
At 31 July 2000          171,648   231,143       116,788        48,594   568,173
Reclassification          40,429       422             -      (40,851)         -
Additions                 68,285    19,739        33,088        29,469   150,581
At 29 July 2001          280,362   251,304       149,876        37,212   718,754
Depreciation
At 31 July 2000            3,988    17,856        41,333             -    63,177
Reclassification             617     1,940       (2,557)             -         -
Charge for the             4,150     7,060        18,464             -    29,674
year
At 29 July 2001            8,755    26,856        57,240             -    92,851
Net book value
At 29 July 2001          271,607   224,448        92,636        37,212   625,903
At 30 July 2000          167,660   213,287        75,455        48,594   504,996



11  Creditors due within one year


                                                     2001                  2000

                                                     £000                  £000

Trade creditors                                    50,418                40,420
Corporation tax                                     2,437                 1,651
Other tax and social security                       7,715                 4,829
Other creditors                                     3,881                 3,848
Dividend payable                                    4,076                 3,695
Accruals and deferred income                       13,438                13,493
                                                   81,965                67,936



12    Creditors due after more than one year
                                                             2001          2000

                                                             £000          £000

Bank loans repayable by instalments                       164,509       124,353
US senior loan  notes repayable in a single 
instalment in 2009                                         86,859        86,815
                                                          251,368       211,168
Other creditors                                             2,213         2,811
                                                          253,581       213,979






13    Provisions for liabilities and charges


                                                          2001             2000

                                                          £000             £000

                                                                     (Restated)
Deferred tax
Accelerated capital allowances                          44,664           35,150
Other timing differences                                 3,882            3,982
Advance corporation tax                                  (743)          (3,444)
Full provision for deferred tax                         47,803           35,688

Provision at start of year                              35,688           25,477
Deferred tax charge in profit and loss account for      12,115           10,211
period
Provision at end of year                                47,803           35,688





14  Capital, reserves and shareholders' funds

          Called-up   Share   Revaluation  Profit and         2001          2000
              share premium       reserve        loss Shareholders'Shareholders'
            capital account                   account         funds        funds
              £000     £000          £000        £000          £000         £000
                                                                      (Restated)

At start     4,198  113,081        24,494     140,745       282,518      205,996
of year as
previously
stated
Adoption         -        -             -    (35,688)      (35,688)     (25,477)
of FRS19
(below)
As           4,198  113,081        24,494     105,057       246,830      180,519
restated
Allotments      26    3,308                                   3,334       47,854
Transfer         -        -         (670)         670             -            -
Profit for       -        -             -      29,860        29,860       24,056
the year
Dividends        -        -             -     (6,185)       (6,185)      (5,599)
At end of    4,224  116,389        23,824     129,402       273,839      246,830
year



The company has adopted FRS19 deferred taxation and, as required under the
standard, the previous years' shareholders' funds have been restated. The
impact of implementing FRS19 deferred taxation on current years profits is to
reduce them by £12,115,000 (2000: £10,211,000).