Record revenue of more than £1 billion drove record profits at Suffolk brewer and pub retailer Greene King in the year to May 1.

Revenues hit £1.042 bn – up six per cent on the previous year. PBT was 13.8 per cent higher at £140m.

The results sparked a flurry of profit taking as the share price dipped almost 23p (4.40 per cent) to 495.20p and chief executive Rooney Anand warned of “another testing year.”

He said: “This has been a very successful year for Greene King, delivering revenue of over £1bn for the first time, record profits and a 7.4 per cent dividend increase.

“Our retail business continues to spearhead our growth, as we increase our share of the eating out market. Our retail expansion strategy is on track with our most recent acquisitions, Cloverleaf and Realpubs, trading well. Our teams across the business have delivered these results by giving our customers compelling value, service and quality and going forward, there are numerous opportunities for further growth.

“Looking ahead, we foresee another testing year. The UK economy continues to face inflationary pressures, impacting on both our customers' spending power and our cost base, and the impact of the Government's cutbacks is still to take full effect.

“However, these results show, through our sales momentum, our retail expansion strategy and our strong profit conversion, that we can continue to deliver attractive returns to our shareholders.”

Net debt at the year-end was £1.41bn, an increase of £62.1m from the previous year-end after Greene King invested £131.2m in expanding retail with new and greenfield sites.