Greggs grows full year sales and profits
Greggs has increased both its full year sales and pre-tax profits as it continues to work towards transforming the company from a traditional bakery business.
In the year to 31 December, total sales grew by 7% to £894.2 million while company-managed shop like-for-like sales climbed by 4.2%.
Pre-tax profit rose to £75.1 million from £73 million in the previous year. When exceptional items were excluded, pre-tax profit was £80.3 million.
Greggs said it had benefited from growing strength in the “food-on-the-go” market and improvements to its product range.
Roger Whiteside, Greggs chief executive, said: “In 2016 we delivered another strong performance as we continued on our journey to transform Greggs from a traditional bakery business into a modern, attractive food-on-the-go retailer. Our product offer is evolving to meet the changing needs of our customers and our shop estate and service levels have benefited from significant investment.”
During the year, 208 shops were refurbished and as a result 92% of the shop estate has now been transformed to Gregg’s new food-on-the-go format.
It also opened 145 new shops and closed 79 to leave 1,764 stores trading at the year end.
The company said its ‘Balanced Choice’ range of healthier options now accounts for over 10% of sales.
Greggs reported that 2017 has started in line with expectations with company-managed shop like-for-like sales up 2% in the eight weeks to 25 February.
Looking ahead, Whiteside said: “The UK consumer outlook is more challenging than we have seen in recent years, with industry-wide pressures emerging in commodities as well as labour costs. However, we are confident of making further progress as we implement our plan to grow Greggs as a contemporary food-on-the-go brand.”
