Greggs hails exceptional year
Greggs has posted a strong increase in annual sales and profit after what it described as an exceptional year.
In the year to 28 December, total sales climbed by 13.5% to £1.68 billion while pre-tax profit rose to £108.3 million from £82.6 million in the previous year.
Meanwhile, company-managed shop like-for-like sales grew by 9.2% as the company benefited from the huge popularity of its new vegan product lines.
Roger Whiteside, Greggs chief executive, said: “2019 was an exceptional year of progress for Greggs, during which we experienced a sustained increase in customer visits as increased awareness and appreciation of our brand gathered momentum. Our exceptional performance was founded on the changes that we have made across our multi-year strategic investment programme, which has delivered transformational change across the business and has now set us up for the next phase of growth.”
During the period, Greggs opened 138 new shops to take the total to 2,050 by the year end. It also began the roll-out of a delivery service in partnership with Just Eat
Greggs said it made a strong start to 2020 although sales slowed in February due to the storms. Despite this, company-managed shop like-for-like sales climbed by 7.5% in the nine weeks to 29 February.
Looking ahead, Whiteside added: “There is some uncertainty in the outlook, particularly given the potential impact of Coronavirus. This aside we expect to make year-on-year progress and will do so from a strong financial position, supporting our investment for further growth whilst also delivering good returns for all stakeholders.”
