Newcastle's Greggs profits soar over £960m up 7.4 per cent

Greggs has been named as the leading bakery on the UK’s high-street, with over 1,850 stores.

Total sales for the Newcastle-headquartered company is up by 7.4 per cent to £960m (£894.2m in 2016). In addition, operating profit - excluding property profits and exceptional items - is up 4.6 per cent totalling £81.7m.

Further improvements have also been made to product ranges, specifically focusing on hot drinks and hot food. Healthier options including the ‘Balanced Choice’ menu is also said to be growing, accounting for more than £100m of sales.

Despite 41 closures of stores, an extra 131 have been opened for business. A total of 1,854 shops were trading as of December 30, 2017.

Continued investment is being made to consolidate manufacturing operations and expand logistics capacity. As well as this, new shop replenishment systems are being successfully rolled out and supply chain solution piloted.

Roger Whiteside, chief executive of Greggs, concluded: “In 2017 we delivered another strong performance in challenging economic circumstances as rising inflation impacted both our own costs and customers’ disposable income.

“At the same time we continued to make good progress with our business transformation programme. Whilst the UK consumer outlook remains challenging, we are encouraged by the start to the year.

“2018 will be the peak year for investment in our supply chain as we create the platforms for further growth. We also plan to open a record number of new shops as we implement our plan to grow Greggs as a leading food-on-the-go brand.”

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