Greggs cautions that profits will not recover until 2022 ‘at earliest’

Greggs reported that annual sales in the year just ended came in at £811m, compared to £1.17bn in 2019.

In the Christmas quarter ending January 2, company-managed store like-for-likes averaged 81.1% of the level achieved the previous year.

The retailer has had to make 820 redundancies in the wake of the Covid outbreak, which has disrupted trading across retail.

The retailer expects to post a loss of up to £15m this year following disruption to trading. In the final quarter, Greggs generated sales of £293m versus £344m in the previous comparable period. 

The sales performance varied depending upon restrictions on trading over the quarter, from 76.7% of 2019 like-for-like levels in November to 85.7% in the five weeks to January 2.

Greggs adapted its business to changed conditions with the roll-out of a delivery offer in partnership with Just Eat. In the final quarter, delivery accounted for 5.5% of sales at company-managed branches. The service will be available from 800 stores this year compared to 600 at present.

Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “Whilst the impact of Covid-19 has been enormous, we have established working practices that allow us to provide takeaway food services under the different levels of restrictions we have experienced.  

“The breadth of Greggs’ customer base provides ongoing demand for our services which, combined with our diverse geographical spread, has demonstrated the resilience of our business.

“With customers spending more time at home we have successfully developed our partnership with Just Eat to offer delivery and have seen strong sales through our longstanding partnership with Iceland, offering our products for home baking.   

“In light of the recent government announcements, significant uncertainties remain in the near-term.”