9th Jan 2019 07:57
LONDON (Alliance News) - Greggs PLC on Wednesday upped its annual guidance after reporting an increase in sales and "very strong finish to 2018".
For the year ended December 29, the on-the-go baker said total sales were up 7.2% against the prior year, with company-managed shop like-for-like sales up 2.9%.
The second half proved much stronger than the first, with like-for-like sales up 4.2% and 1.5% respectively, boosted by sales of seasonal products such as the "Festive Bake" and freshly-baked mince pies.
Chief Executive Officer Roger Whiteside said: "We delivered a very strong finish to 2018 despite the well-publicised challenges in the consumer sector.
"In the year ahead, we will continue to innovate with products designed to reflect changing consumer tastes, and by opening in new locations that make Greggs even more accessible to customers."
As a result of its strong performance, Greggs said it expects its annual underlying pretax profit to be at least GBP88 million, "slightly ahead of our previous guidance". In November, the baker guided to profit of at least GBP86.0 million.
For 2017, pretax profit came in at GBP81.8 million.
During 2018, Greggs opened 149 new shops and closed 50. It now trades from 1,953 shops and looks to open between 90 and 100 more in the coming year.
The baker will publish its full-year results on March 7.
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