RETAIL giant Whitbread powered through last year with scarcely a hair out of place.

Pre-tax profits increased 12% to #355m on a turnover advance of 6% to #3198m as the group gained market share in most of its activities.

However, the shares lost 30p to 1060p on profit-taking, after Tuesday's increase of a similar amount, with sentiment also affected by some analysts' caution on the outlook for consumer spending.

Chairman Sir Michael Angus said that poor weather over Easter had left results behind expectations, although still ahead of last year, and that factor would affect the rest of the sector.

The company has been spending heavily on expansion, creating 900 jobs in Scotland this year at a cost of #26m out of a total capital expenditure programme similar to last year's #462m.

There is some concern that the High Street dining sector is approaching saturation, with estimates of how much was spent on development in 1997 ranging as high as #1000m.

However, Whitbread restaurants and inns both grew strongly.

The pubs, led by Brewers Fayre, had a particularly good experience, with margins increasing from 20.5% to 21.3% and the food growth of 13% almost double the industry average.

Whitbread is targeting the ''food, females and family'' market to leave the cask conditioned ale drinkers sitting disconsolately in the corner - the Whitbread Beer Company is experiencing a 15% decline in that sector.

But that was more than made up by the outstanding success of Stella Artois in the off-trade where sales surged 27%. That has left it as the highest value alcoholic drink in the supermarket and shop sector.

Overall beer market share grew 0.2% to a record 15.5%, with the only disappointment a fall in the pub trade ahead of the UK average.

Chief executive David Thomas said the Beer Company was an integral part of the group. There have been rumours it could be the subject of a management buy-out, but the 12% rise in profits to #44.6m seems to have nailed that idea.

The best proportional performance, with a 23% profits uplift to #19m, came from David Lloyd Leisure. The British public seem to have an insatiable appetite for sport and fitness.

As for the hotels, there were record occupancies in both Travel Inns and the Marriott chain.

Hotels were the second-biggest profits contributor at #70m, after the #172n from the inns.

Ben Maitland at broker Sutherlands reckons the shares are a buy. His reasoning is that between 1997 and 2000, Whitbread will experience annual profits growth of 12%. The strongest performances will come from leisure and restaurants.

Maitland has a year-end target price of 1150p, but he warns there won't be much action over the next few months.

The dividend total has been raised 9% to 26.02p.