Wholesaler Booker's sales boosted by warm summer weather

LONDON, Sept 19 (Reuters) - Booker Group (LSE: BOK.L - news) , Britain's biggest cash-and-carry wholesaler, posted a 19 percent rise in second quarter sales as a warm summer drove up customer numbers and demand.

The firm, which runs more than 170 branches supplying caterers, convenience stores, grocers, pubs and prisons, said on Thursday like-for-like sales excluding its Makro business were up 3.5 percent in the 12 weeks to Sept. 13, with non-tobacco sales up 6.9 percent and tobacco sales down 2.0 percent.

Total (NYSE: TOT - news) sales in the period including Makro rose 19.3 percent.

Booker, which acquired Makro, the loss-making UK business of German retailer Metro AG (Xetra: 725750 - news) , last year, in order to reach customers like small firms and hotels, said it was on track to integrate the division into its business.

The firm had operated Makro as a separate unit until Britain's monopoly watchdog cleared the acquisition in April.

Booker said its outlook for the full-year was unchanged.

Shares in Booker closed at 133.3 pence on Wednesday, up 40 percent on a year ago, valuing the business at almost 2.3 billion pounds.