Partner Article

Breakfast trade boosts Greggs amid rising costs

BAKERY chain Greggs today said it remains on track to open up to 60 new stores this year after a bumper six months in which it sold 4.5 million breakfast rolls and enjoyed a 12% rise in profits.

The Newcastle-headquartered firm saw sales climb 2.9% to £321m in the six months to 3 July as pretax profits jumped 12.3% to £18.6m.

The company said it expected a tougher second half of the year due to the fallout from rising wheat prices and its impact on ingredient costs.

However, having added 18 new shops to its portfolio in the first half of the year, it aims to have opened up to 60 by the end of the year.

In the first half of the year the company was bolstered by sales of more than 2 million meal deals, up 167% on last year.

Meanwhile booming sales of bacon and sausage breakfast rolls helped the group through the traditionally quiet early morning period.

Chief executive Ken McMeikan said: “The pressure on the trading environment looks likely to increase in the second half and we remain focused on managing costs tightly. We now expect an increase in ingredient cost inflation in the second half of the year, following the recent rise in wheat prices.

“Despite the challenging trading environment, I believe that Greggs remains on track to deliver another year of progress.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .