J D Wetherspoon first-quarter like-for-like sales rise 6.3 pct

LONDON, Nov 5 (Reuters) - British pub chain JD Wetherspoon posted an 6.3 percent rise in first-quarter underlying sales after a strong August and September, although it said growth had slowed in October.

The firm, which has grown to over 900 pubs on the back of demand for its cheap drinks and food promotions, has been growing sales at a steady rate thanks to new pubs, longer opening hours and improvements to menus and service.

Such investment has come at the expense of its operating margin, though, which fell to 7.7 percent from 8.3 percent in the same period a year earlier. The firm said on Wednesday it expected the margin to be between 7.2 and 7.8 percent for the current year to July 26 2015.

The firm's first quarter was for the 13 weeks to Oct (HKSE: 3366.HK - news) . 26.

(Reporting by Paul Sandle; editing by Sarah Young)