Greggs sales rise on coffee, breakfast and salad growth

The healthy eating craze shows no sign of slowing down. Greggs has revealed a rise in sales and profits as its decision to sell salads, coffee and hot sandwiches continues to bear fruit. Total sales in the half year to July 1 rose 7.3 per cent to £453m, as like for like sales inched up 3.4 per cent. Pre-tax profits before exceptionals rose 15.9 per cent to £29.4m.The company said the growth came predominantly from its expanded coffee and breakfast offering, as well as its “balanced choice” range including new salads and drinks. It also reported continued like for like growth in its “traditional savoury favourites” such as sausage rolls, showing that the traditional bakery offering is far from dead (phew).It opened 61 new stores and now has over 1,800 outlets. It expects to open around 100 net new stores for the year as a whole. However, the company also warned that its costs were rising as a result of inflation, and said this had impacted its margins, which fell from 6.4 per cent to 6.1 per cent.

Source: www.ft.com