JD Wetherspoon announced a further fall in profits yesterday and revealed that trade had been difficult at pubs where it had banned smoking.

The group, which operates 36 of its 655 pubs as non-smoking outlets, reported annual underlying profits of £46.1m, a fall of 15 per cent on a year earlier after sales dipped 0.6 per cent in the year to July 24.

Wetherspoons has banned smoking at The Gosforth, in Newcastle, The Plimsoll Line, in Redcar, east Cleveland, and at Wetherspoons, Gateshead.

It is to implement a ban at The Quayside pub, in Newcastle, this month.

Trends worsened last month, with comparable sales down by 1.7 per cent as Wetherspoon was hit by competition from supermarkets. The company believes many people are being put off town centres by concerns about anti-social behaviour.

It announced a four per cent fall in annual profits last year.

The initial response to the introduction of a smoking ban in pubs resulted in turnover falling by about seven per cent, while margins declined as trade switched from bar sales to less profitable food business.

Wetherspoon, which hopes to have about 50 non-smoking pubs by Christmas, said it would review the ban early next year.

It introduced the ban as a pre-emptive measure ahead of legislation.

The company said it was confident its pubs would be permitted to open an hour later in the week and until 1am on Friday and Saturdays.