UK pub operator JD Wetherspoon said it enjoyed strong sales over the Christmas period, helped by its customers' new-found fondness for gin and solid demand for coffee drinks.
The company had warned in November about weaker sales.
It said today it still expects pretax profit for the first half of its fiscal year to be lower than a year earlier as it struggles with higher costs, but it maintained its full-year outlook.
Wetherspoon follows other UK pub operators, including Greene King, Marston's and Stonegate Pub Company, owner of the Slug and Lettuce pub chain, that have reported higher sales for the period.
This is despite the pubs facing cost pressures and slowing consumer spending in Britain amid uncertainty about Brexit.
Wetherspoon said like-for-like sales for the 12 weeks to January 20 rose by 7.2% from a year earlier.
"Our expectations for the full year are unchanged," the company said in a statement but gave no details.
UK pub operators have been battling rising costs from an increase in the minimum wage, higher property rents and a Brexit-spurred slide in sterling.
At the same time, younger Britons are increasingly moving away from pub drinking.
"It has been a strong trading period with gin sales which are very fashionable at the moment - there has been a good sales of craft beer as well and very good sales of coffee," Wetherspoon's pro-Brexit chief executive Tim Martin told Reuters.
Wetherspoon, which relies heavily on alcohol sales at its restaurants, also serves items such as low-calorie breakfast options, English muffins, pancakes and Lavazza filter coffee to boost revenue through a diversified portfolio.
The company is investing in its food and coffee business, which is more labour intensive than beer.
"Costs, as previously indicated, are considerably higher than the previous year, especially labour, which has increased by about £30m in the period," Martin said.
In November JD Wetherspoon announced a pay increase for its employees, while it is also dealing with a new sugar tax on drinks.
Weatherspoon said it plans to open five to 10 pubs in the current financial year, which ends in July, after opening six outlets in its previous fiscal year.
