Greggs hails strong full year performance
Greggs has reported a “strong” full year performance despite being impacted by rising inflation.
In the year to 30 December, underlying operating profit, excluding property profits and exceptional items, grew by 4.6% to £81.7 million. Pre-tax profit including exceptional items fell by 4.3% to £71.9 million.
Total sales increased by 7.4% to £960 million with company managed shop like-for-like sales climbing by 3.7%.
Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “In 2017 we delivered another strong performance in challenging economic circumstances as rising inflation impacted both our own costs and customers’ disposable income. At the same time, we continued to make good progress with our business transformation programme.”
During the year, Greggs made further improvements to its hot drinks and hot food ranges and invested in consolidating its manufacturing operations and expanding its logistics capacity.
In addition, the company opened 131 new shops and closed 41 to leave 1,854 shops trading at the year-end. It also rolled out a new shop replenishment system.
Greggs’ healthier options ‘Balanced Choice’ range grew stronglyin the period and accounted for more than £100 million in sales.
Giving an update on more recent trading, Greggs said like-for-like sales rose by 3.2% in eight weeks to 24 February.
Whiteside added: “Whilst the UK consumer outlook remains challenging, we are encouraged by the start to the year. 2018 will be the peak year for investment in our supply chain as we create the platforms for further growth. We also plan to open a record number of new shops as we implement our plan to grow Greggs as a leading food-on-the-go brand.”
