British baker and fast food chain Greggs kept its full-year outlook as underlying sales rose in the third quarter and it won market share, showing the resilience of its value offer in a cost of living crisis now into a second year.
Greggs also said on Tuesday the rate of cost inflation had eased as it annualised the significant commodity-led increases it saw in 2022.
The group's sausage rolls, steak bakes, vegan snacks and sweet treats have chimed with Britons whose income has been dented by high inflation.
Its shares are up 45% over the last year.
Like-For-Like Sales
Greggs' like-for-like sales in company-managed shops rose 14.2% year-on-year over the 13 weeks to 30 September, its fiscal third quarter, having been up 16.0% in the first half.
Total sales rose 20.8%.
Greggs opened a net 82 stores in the quarter, taking the total to 2,410.
It also extended trading hours into the early evening at more stores, increased customer participation in its app, and further developed its delivery service with a second partner, Uber Eats.
Full-Year Results
Greggs said the board's expectations for full-year results were unchanged.
Prior to Tuesday's update analysts were on average forecasting a 2023 pretax profit of £165 million, according to Refinitiv data, up from £148.3 million in 2022.
Christmas Prices
The company has no plans currently to raise prices before Christmas, its boss noted.
Greggs has not raised its prices since June, when some products went up by 5 to 10 pence.
"We don't have any plans currently to take any further price rises pre-Christmas," Chief Executive Roisin Currie told Reuters after Greggs updated on trading.
She said cost inflation had eased in areas such as dairy and vegetable oils, while energy prices were less volatile than last year.
But Currie cautioned that there was still significant inflation in the market, particularly in staff wages.
Read More: Greggs Confident As UK Appetite Grows For Its Bakes, Coffee
News by Reuters, edited by Donna Ahern, Checkout. For more retail stories, click here. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
