Greggs, the high street baker, benefitted from good trading over the Easter period as it reported a 4.8% increase in total sales and a 0.8% like-for-like sales growth for the 18 weeks to 7 May.
Like-for-like sales were up 0.4% for the first 10 weeks, “reflecting good Easter trading and the favourable weather over the last four weeks,” said chairman Derek Netherton.
More than three million hot cross buns were sold, up 23% on last year, and two new seasonal lines were launched in the period: an Easter simnel cake and a hot cross bun loaf.
Twenty five new shops were opened in the period and five closed. Netherton said Greggs is “on track” with plans to open 80 net new shops in 2011, and passed the milestone of its 1,500th shop in York on 5 March. To date it operates 1,507 sites.
The refit programme is also “on track” with 59 completed in the period, including 13 in its concept shop format.
Netherton pointed to “significant and rising input cost pressures as a result of global commodity price increases, in particular fuel, energy and key ingredients” but he doesn’t expect major price rises.
“We expect to mitigate these challenges through our on-going initiatives to make the business even more efficient, thereby minimising the need to pass on inflationary cost increases to our customers.
“It should be noted, as we have previously indicated, that profits in the first half of this year will bear the impact of some £2m from the two additional bank holidays when compared to the first half of 2010.
“We continue to believe that marginally positive like-for-like sales are achievable for the full year and expect further top line sales growth as our rate of new shop openings gathers pace. The financial position of the business remains strong, and overall we expect the year to be one of further progress for Greggs.”
