Greggs warns on profit after heatwave impacts sales
Greggs is expecting its full year operating profit to be modestly lower than last year after hot weather in June impacted sales.
In an update on first half trading, the food-to-go retailer reported a 6.9% increase in total sales in the 26 weeks to 28 June to £1.03 billion.
Like-for-like sales rose by 2.6% after an improved performance up to May was followed by slower growth in June as unusually high temperatures increased demand for cold drinks but reduced footfall in the retailer’s stores.
During the period, Greggs opened 87 new shops and closed 56 which meant it had a total of 2,649 shops trading at 28 June. The retailer said it remains confident that it will deliver 140 to 150 net openings for the full year.
Looking ahead, Greggs said it expects first half operating profit to be lower than at the same time last year, following stronger comparative trading performance in the first half of 2024 and the phasing of refurbishments and cost recovery initiatives across the current year.
It added: “Whilst acknowledging that comparative like-for-like sales are less demanding in the second half of the year, in light of the current trading conditions the board now anticipates that the full year operating profit could be modestly below that achieved in 2024.”
