8th Jan 2020 08:17
(Alliance News) - Bakery chain Greggs PLC on Wednesday raised its annual profit guidance for its financial year, and it promised a GBP7 million special payment to employees, due to their "crucial contribution to business success".
In the year ended December 28, the company said like-for-like sales were up 9.2% annually, and in total, they rose by 14% which would give Greggs full-year sales of GBP1.17 billion.
To compare, total sales last year rose 7.2% to GBP1.03 billion, with like-for-like sales improving by 2.9%.
In the fourth quarter alone, like-for-like sales rose by 8.7%, compared with growth of 5.2% in the same period last year.
As a result of strong trading, particularly in the latter part of 2019, Greggs expects its annual underlying pretax profit to be higher than its previous expectations, even after the special payment to its workforce of roughly 23,000 employees.
The company previously upped its guidance in November, after reporting like-for-like sales in the six weeks to November 9 grew by 8.3%.
Greggs said its sales growth continued to be driven by added customer visits, following strong demand for the company's traditional ranges and its new vegan-friendly sausage roll. Last week, the company also launched its new vegan steak bake range.
During the year, Greggs opened 138 new shops and closed 41, bringing the total estate to 2,050 shops, 302 of which are franchised shops operated by partners. For the 2020 financial year, Greggs expects to open 100 net shops.
"We delivered a strong finish to what has been an exceptional year for Greggs. The major investments we have made in recent years to make Greggs an attractive choice in the food-on-the-go market are delivering. Consumers are responding very positively and we have seen increasing visits from both new and existing customers," said Chief Executive Roger Whiteside.
"Our record financial performance in 2019 has enabled us to enhance returns to shareholders. I am delighted to announce that we will also be making a special additional payment to all of our colleagues across the business who have worked so hard to deliver this success in what has been a phenomenal year," Whiteside added.
Shares in Greggs - which is headquartered in Newcastle upon Tyne - were up 0.7% at 2,418.00 pence on Wednesday morning in London.
By Dayo Laniyan; [email protected]
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