1st Oct 2019 09:14
(Alliance News) - Greggs PLC said Tuesday its sales performance for the third quarter of 2019 was strong and as a result left its expectations for its full year unchanged.
However the bakery shop chain said its rate of year-on-year sales growth had moderated as expected, due to strong comparatives in the prior year.
Shares in the FTSE 250 bakery chain - known for its sausage rolls, both meat and vegan - were down 5.5% at 1,975.00 pence on Tuesday.
For the 13 weeks ended September 28, total sales rose by 12%, while like-for-like sales in company-managed shops increased by 7.4%. For the same period a year before, total sales grew by 7.3%, and like-for-like sales by 3.2%.
For the nine months ended September 28, total sales rose by 14%, and like-for-like sales by 9.4%.
In the year-to-date, Greggs has opened 90 new shops and closed 34, giving the group a total of 2,009 shops trading as at September 28.
Looking ahead, Greggs has been preparing for Brexit by building up stocks of key ingredients and equipment that could be affected by any disruption to the flow of goods into the UK, it said.
Overall input cost inflation is in line with the group's previous guidance, with pressure on both labour and food input costs.
"Operational cost control has been good and we are progressing selective investments in the strategic initiatives that we expect to deliver an even stronger customer proposition and further growth in the years ahead," Greggs said.
"We continue to expect that year-on-year sales growth in the balance of the year will reflect the strengthening comparatives seen in 2018, and our expectations for the full year outturn remain unchanged."
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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