(Reuters) - Premier Inn owner Whitbread announced plans to exit 126 under-performing branded restaurants on Tuesday, resulting in a reduction of about 4%, or 1,500 roles, in its UK workforce.

Still, the company announced a 26% rise in its final dividend and said it planned to buy back shares worth 150 million pounds ($187.91 million).

Whitbread said its food and beverage (F&B) division saw a 2% sales dip in the seven weeks to April 18, hurt by lower demand at its branded restaurants.

It is undertaking a set of measures at its F&B division to improve business, including the job cuts and reorganizing certain branded restaurants, the company added.

For the full year, however, the hotel-chain company posted a 36% rise in annual profit, helped by strong demand in the UK and Germany.

The company reported annual group pre-tax profit of 561 million pounds, slightly below average estimates of 565 million pounds, according to a company-compiled consensus.

($1 = 0.7983 pounds)

(Reporting by Anchal Rana and Yamini Kalia in Bengaluru; Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips and Rashmi Aich)