As Glasgow's popular Sir John Moore re-opens today, staff at the newly-expanded "super pub" should be cheered to hear that its owner has returned to profitability for the first time since the pandemic.

JD Wetherspoon has posted a pre-tax profit of £42.6 million for the 12 months to the end of July, versus a loss of £30m in the previous year. Food sales were a major factor in the 10.6% increase in total sales to £1.92 billion, while bar sales were up 9%.

Set up in 1984 by chairman Tim Martin, Wetherspoons runs more than 820 pubs across the UK and Ireland including the Sir John Moore in Argyle Street. The venue has officially re-opened today after being closed for two months as part of a £1.4m overhaul and expansion that is said to have generated 40 new jobs.

READ MORE: Wetherspoons jumps back to profit on back of bumper food sales

The hospitality sector has been under tremendous pressure since the Covid pandemic which forced restaurants, bars, and other public venues into temporary hibernation for weeks at a time. Once health restrictions started to ease the industry came under an inflationary assault as energy, food and wage costs shot through the roof.

Despite these pressures, Wetherspoons has remained committed to maintaining the low prices for which it is renowned. This is helping to keep its customer base loyal, as shown by the robust 12.7% increase in last year's like-for-like sales.

That performance was not enough to stop the outspoken Mr Martin from launching a tirade today against the UK's Covid-era lockdowns, which he blamed for the more recent inflationary struggles.

The group is better-placed than many of its peers to weather any downturn in consumer spending, but the news that sales growth has slowed in more recent weeks since the close of the financial year has sent its shares lower in today's trading.

READ MORE: Wetherspoon denies pub sales are 'money-raising' exercise

There are concerns about the scale of Spoons' recovery potential as the economy continues to slow from the impact of higher interest rates. Inflationary pressures have eased but they have certainly not gone away, raising questions as to whether the group can maintain profit margins.

Put into context, Wetherspoon's pre-tax profit of £42.6m sits at just 0.02% of annual sales. It also remains significantly adrift of the group's last pre-pandemic profit of £102m.

So a toast to today's results, but it seems very likely there will be more headaches in the months to come.