The Birmingham bar group behind household names such as All Bar One and O'Neill's has slipped into the red after it was struck by "unprecedented" cost increases.
However, Jewellery Quarter-based Mitchells & Butlers said it expected those pressures to abate considerably this year, amid an easing in food and energy inflation.
In its annual results for the 53 weeks to September 30, 2023, the listed group said revenue had climbed from £2.2 billion to £2.5 billion but a 2022 pre-tax profit of £8 million had fallen to a loss of £13 million.
That loss was eased slightly by a tax credit of £9 million, making a total loss for 2022/23 of £4 million.
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M&B said the financial results were driven by weaker property valuations and increased costs which also included higher wage bills.
The annual statement to the London Stock Exchange added that the group had been "encouraged" by continued sales growth into the new financial year, with like-for-like growth of 7.2 per cent since the end of September.
It said it was confident about future trading due to stable volumes but added it was "very mindful of the potential implications of the cost-of-living challenge facing guests".
Chief executive Phil Urban said: "We are delighted by the continued strength of our trading performance and resilience in the face of unprecedented cost headwinds.
"We have achieved good growth in underlying profit, excluding government support, with like-for-like sales growth across all of our brands and record outperformance against the market.
"While we remain mindful of the pressures that the UK consumer is facing, the strength of our sales growth alongside an abating cost environment gives us confidence for the financial year ahead."
M&B operates a broad range of managed restaurants and pubs, including Harvester, Toby Carvery, Miller & Carter, Premium Country Pubs and Stonehouse, Vintage Inns.
In addition, it runs Innkeeper's Collection hotels in the UK and Alex restaurants and bars in Germany, employing more than 50,000 people across the group.
