UPDATE 2-Pubs firm Young's eyes World Cup, summer boost

* FY pretax profit 19.4 mln stg vs poll average 18.8 mln

* Says seen encouraging start to current year

* Rules out bidding for Mitchells & Butlers pubs

* Shares up 3.3 percent

(Adds CEO, analyst comment, shares)

By Matt Scuffham

LONDON, June 3 (Reuters) - London-focused pubs group Young's (YNGa.L) reported a better-than-expected full-year pretax profit and hoped the soccer World Cup and hot summer weather would enable it to build on strong current trading.

Young's, which operates 219 pubs based mainly in and around the capital, said it had been encouraged by a positive trading performance since the year end and was cautiously optimistic on the outlook for the current year.

In an interview with Reuters, Chief Executive Stephen Goodyear said the World Cup and a hot summer could help the company maintain sales growth, particularly if England had a good run in the tournament.

"There's a feel good factor (from the World Cup). The whole nation will get picked up a bit after the struggles of the last couple of years. It's difficult to put a figure on but one would certainly hope it would boost our like-for-like sales," he said.

Goodyear said a good summer would particularly benefit Young's as it had 14 pubs with gardens situated on the banks of the River Thames and had invested extensively in the outside areas of its pubs over the last three years.

"If the sun shines those pubs do very well so if we get a good summer it helps us enormously," he said.

Young's reported an underlying pretax profit of 19.4 million pounds ($28.4 million) in the year to March 29, ahead of the average forecast of 18.8 million pounds in a Thomson Reuters I/B/E/S poll of four analysts.

In the first eight weeks of the current year, Young's said comparable sales at its 120 managed pubs, which are directly operated by the company, were up 2.2 percent.

Last month, rivals Mitchells & Butlers (MAB.L) and Marston's (MARS.L) reported improving sales, suggesting the sector may be emerging from a dismal three years where trading has been hit hard by the recession, a smoking ban and competition from cheap alcohol offers in supermarkets. [ID:nLDE64G1BZ] [ID:nLDE64H0PH]

Young's has one of the strongest balance sheets in the pubs sector and cut its net debt by 3.1 million pounds to 62.2 million in the second half of the year while still investing 8.2 million pounds in pub refurbishments.

It is continuing to look for acquisitions but Goodyear said the company would not purchase any of the 300 pubs being put up for sale by Mitchells & Butlers.

"We've had a look at those but I don't think they're for us," he said.

Young's is paying a final dividend of 6.76 pence per share, making a total for the year of 13 pence, up 2 percent.

Shares in the company were trading at 537.5 pence, up 3.3 percent, at 1000 GMT, valuing the business at 238 million pounds.

"A central London focus, well-invested estate and quality operation positions the company well for likely higher tourism in the capital. Young's has an enviable balance sheet and is well-funded for expansion," said KBC Peel Hunt analyst Paul Hickman, who rates the shares a 'buy'.

(Reporting by Matt Scuffham; Editing by Kate Holton and Michael Shields)

($1=.6831 Pound)