7th Mar 2019 08:50
LONDON (Alliance News) - Greggs PLC on Thursday reported a "strong" annual performance with over GBP1.0 billion in sales and with profit rising 15%.
The FTSE 250 on-the-go baker rewarded shareholders, hiking its total dividend 11% to 35.7 pence each up from 32.3p a year ago. This was after declaring a final payout of 25.0p up 14% from 22.0p.
Furthermore, Greggs said it intends to declare a special dividend with its next interim results as the new year started strong on the back of the launch of its vegan sausage roll.
For the year ended December 29, Greggs posted pretax profit up to GBP82.6 million from GBP71.9 million a year prior.
Revenue rose 7.2% to GBP1.03 billion from GBP960.0 million while costs remained broadly in line with the prior year.
Company-managed shop like-for-like sales were up 2.9% in the year, following a strong performance in 2017 up 3.7%.
During the year, Greggs opened 149 new shops and closed 50. It ended financial 2018 trading from a total of 1,953 shops.
"2018 was a year that tested the resilience of Greggs' business model and demonstrated the benefits of our strategic investment programme. The first half was significantly impacted by extreme weather but once this returned to normal our underlying strengths helped us recover the lost ground and deliver results for the year that exceeded our expectations," Chief Executive Officer Roger Whiteside.
Looking ahead, the baker reported a "very strong start" to the year, with company-managed shop like-for-like sales up 9.6% in the seven weeks to 16 February 2019.
Greggs attributed the "exceptional sales performance" to the popularity of its vegan-friendly sausage roll and the publicity around its launch in early January, becoming something of a social media star.
"We hope to continue benefiting from this strong momentum during the first half of 2019 before facing stronger comparatives later in the year. We have a strong financial position which we plan to use to invest in Greggs' potential for further growth, whilst also delivering good returns for shareholders," Whiteside said.
Furthermore, Greggs added that Non-Executive Director Allison Kirkby will step down from her role at the end of its annual general meeting on May 21, after six years on the baker's board.
A search for a replacement non-executive director is already underway, Greggs added.
Greggs shares were trading down 0.8% at 1,798.00 pence each.
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