Britain’s Greggs shows resilience with quarterly sales rise

LONDON (Reuters) -British baker and fast food chain Greggs said on Tuesday it traded well in its latest quarter, showing its resilience against the backdrop of a worsening cost of living squeeze.

Confidence levels among Britain’s consumers sank to a record low last month as they struggle with the accelerating cost of living, even before the government’s mini-budget sowed turmoil in the mortgage market, leading to warnings of a sharp drop in house prices. Wages are failing to keep pace with inflation that was 9.9% in August.

However, Greggs, known for its sausage rolls, steak bakes, vegan snacks and sweet treats, said its total sales rose 14.6% over the 13 weeks to Oct. 1 year-on-year, with like-for-like sales in company managed shops up 9.7%.

“Greggs continues to trade well in an environment where cost pressures are significant,” it said.

It kept its guidance for full-year cost inflation of about 9% and said it expected the full year outcome to be in line with its previous expectations.

Greggs said in March it did not expect material profit growth in the current year on the 145.6 million pounds ($165.2 million) made in 2021 due to the higher cost of raw materials, energy and staff.

($1 = 0.8814 pounds)

(Reporting by James Davey, Editing by Kylie MacLellan and Louise Heavens)