CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR TRADIN

RNS Number : 3019Z

Greggs PLC

12 January 2011

 



12 January 2011

GREGGS plc

CHRISTMAS AND NEW YEAR TRADING UPDATE

Greggs is the leading bakery retailer in the UK,

with over 1,480 retail outlets throughout the country,

serving freshly baked products to six million customers each week

RECORD CHRISTMAS WEEK

Highlights

·	Christmas trading period* - total sales up 3.5%, like-for-like sales up 0.6%
·	Financial year 2010** - total sales up 2.2%, like-for-like sales up 0.2%
·	Record shop opening programme adding 68 net new shops during the year

*           five weeks ending 8 January 2011 which includes the comparable bank holidays in 2009/10

**         52 weeks ending 1 January 2011 compared with the equivalent 52 weeks of the 53-week financial year in 2009

An excellent performance in the Christmas week ending 25 December 2010 saw total sales for the week increase by 19.6 per cent and like-for-like sales by 16.0 per cent, building on the 6.5 per cent increase in total sales in Christmas week 2009.  The last-minute rush by many shoppers, combined with a more favourable trading pattern where Christmas day fell on Saturday, drove strong sales.  Total sales for the five week Christmas trading period to 8 January 2011 grew by 3.5 per cent with like-for-like sales increasing by 0.6 per cent.

Highlights during the Christmas trading period included a 26 per cent increase in our sales of coffee and growth of 19 per cent in our sales of sweet mince pies.  From the launch of our seasonal ranges at the beginning of November through to the end of the year we sold more than eight million mince pies and nearly two million of our Festive Bakes.

For our 2010 financial year as a whole (52 weeks ending 1 January 2011), total sales increased by 2.2 per cent and like-for-like sales by 0.2 per cent compared with the equivalent 52 week period in 2009, in line with our expectation of marginally positive like-for-like growth over the year as a whole. Comparing our 52 week performance in 2010 with our 53 week performance in 2009, total sales increased by 0.6 per cent.

In December we opened 19 new shops, taking our total for the year to 93 new shops and delivering a record net increase of 68, after 25 closures, to give us a total of 1,487 shops at 1 January 2011.  We also completed 135 shop refurbishments, including 28 new concept shops.

Since our interim management statement in October we have purchased for cancellation a further 1,543,704 shares at an average price of £4.53 and a total cost of £7.0 million.  Over the year as a whole we purchased 2,834,569 shares at an average price of £4.51 and a total cost of £12.9 million, in line with the plans we announced in March to return up to £15 million of surplus cash to our shareholders.  We have continued to self-finance our capital expenditure requirements, with no debt and net cash on the balance sheet at the year end and our financial position remains strong.

Chief Executive Ken McMeikan commented: "I am very pleased with both our record Christmas week sales and our new shop opening programme, particularly considering how difficult the trading conditions on high streets were in the run up to Christmas.

"I can't speak highly enough about our people both for the smooth handling of our expansion programme and for the remarkable dedication that they have shown in keeping our shops open and our supply chain functioning during the exceptionally bad weather during November and December.

"Despite the impact of the snow, we anticipate reporting full year results in line with expectations when we make our preliminary results announcement on 16 March 2011.  The consumer environment in the year ahead is likely to continue to be challenging but we remain well positioned to make further progress in 2011 and expect to open around 80 net new shops, creating more than 700 new jobs."

ENQUIRIES:
Greggs plc		Hudson Sandler
Ken McMeikan, Chief Executive		Wendy Baker / Michael Sandler
Richard Hutton, Finance Director		Tel:  [phone]
Tel:	0191 281 7721

 

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