TOP NEWS: Greggs resumes payout, plans 100 new shops as sales rebound

(Alliance News) - Greggs PLC on Tuesday said reinstated shareholder payouts after reporting a ...

Alliance News 3 August, 2021 | 8:03AM
Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

(Alliance News) - Greggs PLC on Tuesday said reinstated shareholder payouts after reporting a robust return to profit and to sales consistent with the pre-pandemic period.

Greggs shares were down 0.1% at 2,800.00 pence each in London on Tuesday morning, having initially started higher to set a new 52-week high of 2,868.00p.

The Newcastle, England-based bakery chain said total sales for the half-year that ended July 3 returned to pre-pandemic levels, taking in GBP546.2 million.

This was up sharply on GBP300.6 million a year ago, and level with the GBP546.3 million reported for the first half of 2019, a completely coronavirus-free period.

"Sales in the second quarter exceeded our expectations, delivering like-for-like sales growth versus the second quarter of 2019," the company added.

Gregg's pretax profit for the recent six months was GBP55.5 million, swinging from a loss of GBP65.2 million a year ago and overtaking 2019's profit of GBP36.7 million.

The company reinstated payouts with an interim dividend of 15.0p per share. Greggs last paid a dividend in October 2019, after which the planned final dividend for 2019 was cancelled to help it weather the coronavirus crisis.

"We continue to make good progress with our strategic priorities, growing the shop estate and investing in our digital capabilities to compete in all channels and dayparts of the food-on-the-go market," the company said.

Greggs opened 48 shops and closed 11 in the first half, for a total of 2,115 stores on July 3.

The baker plans to open around 100 new shops by the end of 2021, predicting the addition of around 500 retail roles in the second half.

Greggs said it has continued to develop its sales offering, widening its vegan range and providing a delivery service from 837 shops, which accounted for 8.5% of company-managed shop sales in the first half.

The food-to-go retailer said it now expects full-year profit to be "slightly ahead" of previous internal forecasts after its quicker-than-anticipated sales recovery.

"Whilst there are still significant uncertainties in the months ahead, we now have a strong cash position and additional financing facilities to draw on if required," said Chief Executive Roger Whiteside.

By Scarlett Butler; scarlettbutler@alliancenews.com

Copyright 2021 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved.

Email Form Facebook Twitter LinkedIn RSS

Securities Mentioned in Article

Security Name Price Change (%) Morningstar
Rating
Greggs PLC 2,786.00 GBX 0.87 -

About Author

Alliance News

Alliance News provides Morningstar with continuously updating coverage of news affecting listed companies.

© Copyright 2024 Morningstar, Inc. All rights reserved.

Terms of Use        Privacy Policy        Modern Slavery Statement        Cookie Settings        Disclosures