Greggs on a roll! High street bakers sees 13.5% sales rise

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Greggs on a roll! High street bakers sees 13.5% sales rise to £1.2 billion last year boosted by new vegan snacks

  • Company had a very strong start to 2020, ‘but significant slowdown in February’ 
  • Profit before tax in 2019, when it began vegan sausage roll, up 31% to £108.3m
  • The firm warned of a ‘significant slowdown’ in February because of poor weather

By Rory Tingle For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Greggs enjoyed a 13.5% sales rise to £1.2billion last year boosted by its vegan sausage rolls – but today warned February sales have been much lower because of the poor weather. 

The business said that it had a very strong start to 2020 in January, ‘but significant slowdown in February due to storms’.

Profit before tax in 2019, the year it launched the vegan sausage roll, rose by 31% to £108.3 million, the Newcastle-based company said, putting it in a ‘strong financial position’ for 2020. 

The business said that it had a very strong start to 2020 in January, ‘but significant slowdown in February due to storms’. Pictured is a file photo of one of its shops 

It opened 138 new shops, while closing 41, leaving 2,050 branches of Greggs open across the country at the end of the year.  

Chief executive Roger Whiteside said: ‘2019 was an exceptional year of progress for Greggs, during which we experienced a sustained increase in customer visits as increased awareness and appreciation of our brand gathered momentum.

‘There is some uncertainty in the outlook, particularly given the potential impact of coronavirus.

‘This aside we expect to make year-on-year progress and will do so from a strong financial position, supporting our investment for further growth whilst also delivering good returns for all stakeholders.’

Greggs enjoyed a bumper 2019, and in January announced it would give each of its staff around £300 in bonuses after ‘phenomenal’ sales boosted by its new vegan range. 

Greggs had a 'phenomenal' 9.2 percent sales rise last year, boosted by its new vegan range. The vegan sausage roll has helped push up sales and extend the chain's appeal (file photo)

Greggs had a ‘phenomenal’ 9.2 percent sales rise last year, boosted by its new vegan range. The vegan sausage roll has helped push up sales and extend the chain’s appeal (file photo)

Greggs announced a £7million windfall payment to its employees, saying its underlying pre-tax profit, even with the payout to staff, would be ahead of expectations when it announces the 2019 results in March.

The company, which hires around 25,000 employees, said is would pay the full bonus to 19,000 staff who joined before April last year, and could expect around £300 each on top of their regular pay at the end of January. 

Other employees were set to receive approximately £75 per quarter they have been working at the business.