- Cost pressures building for the business
- Sales growth set to slow
- Roisin Currie set to take over as CEO
Budget food-on-the-go outfit Greggs (GRG) revealed it faces significant cost pressures as it announced in-line trading in its most recent update.
The company saw very strong like-for-like sales growth in the first 19 weeks of 2022 at 27.4% but this compares with a period which saw very stringent Covid restrictions.
Growth slowed to 15.8% in the ten weeks to 14 May and Greggs expects this to moderate further as trading is compared to more ‘robust’ trading later in 2021. Total sales in the 19-week period were £495 million against £378 million for the same period of 2021.
The shares dipped 0.3% to £21.63 in early trading, extending year-to-date losses to more than 35%.
The company continues to do better outside larger cities with its outlets in travel hubs faring particularly well of late. It opened 49 new shops in the period, including 18 with franchise partners.
CHANGE AT THE TOP
The company’s former retail and property director Roisin Currie is set to succeed the retiring Roger Whiteside after tomorrow’s annual general meeting.
Shore Capital analyst Clive Black commented that the pandemic has had ‘a notable impact upon the past two years for Greggs, one to its credit where is has emerged a strong business with a rebuilt balance sheet with still robust value credentials as the UK goes into a consumer recession, perhaps a deep and long one’.
Black added: ‘Greggs is about to be led by Roisin Currie, the group's first female chief executive, which to us is great to see. Ms. Currie replaces Roger Whiteside, who has transformed Greggs for the better it should be said, in the leadership spot, a role for which we wish her well.
‘We await to see how the group's strategy evolves under Ms Currie, noting that we were surprised to see Mr Whiteside stand down so soon after releasing a five-year strategy in October 2021.’
