 Whitbread PLC LSE:WTB, the owner of Premier Inn, swung to a profit in its first half of the 2023 financial year, with earnings 40 ahead of pre-pandemic levels as the travel sector continues to recover. But it cautioned that costs for the full year are set to rise by 60mln due to inflation pushing up the cost of labour, utilities and food and beverages, and following brought-forward investments in IT and marketing. 