Sales boost lifts shares in British pubs group M&B

(Adds details, shares, analyst)

By Freya Berry

LONDON, Nov 26 (Reuters) - Shares in British pubs group Mitchells & Butlers (LSE: MAB.L - news) jumped by nearly 9 percent on Monday after it announced an uplift in sales over the past eight weeks, helped by demand for food at its Browns, Harvester and All Bar One outlets.

The company, announcing full-year earnings slightly ahead of analysts' expectations, said that underlying sales inched up 0.1 percent since the start of its financial year on Sept. 29 after a 1 percent decline in the nine weeks to Sept. 21.

Britain's largest operator of managed restaurants and pubs posted full-year adjusted pretax profit up 13.6 percent to 184 million pounds ($297 million).

However, like-for-like sales growth of 0.4 percent, against 2.1 percent the previous year, was held back by a squeeze in customers' disposable income, it said.

"We still think that a lot of our customers are under a fair amount of pressure when it comes to cash in pocket," Chief Executive Alistair Darby said.

Shares in the group, which serves about 130 million meals a year, rose as much as 8.7 percent to a two-month high of 425 pence in early trading. They were up 7.4 percent at 414 pence by 0939 GMT, still one of the best-performing mid-cap stocks .

Analysts said the company's operating margins were stronger than expected, rising to 16.5 percent from 16 percent, helped by a 2012 restructuring programme.

"Over the medium term we believe there is good scope for the shares to recover through like-for-like sales picking up, expansion accelerating, dividends resuming and the 600 million pound pension deficit falling," broker Numis said in a note. ($1 = 0.6190 British pounds) (Editing by Paul Sandle and David Goodman)