Greggs profit slips but interim dividend hiked, sales up

Greggs posted a small drop in interim profit but lifted its dividend and announced an “encouraging start” to the second half of the year.

For the 26 weeks ended 2 July, the bakery food-on-the-go retailer said pre-tax profit including exceptional charges nudged down to £25.4m from £25.6m the year before, while revenue edged up to £422.2m from £398.4m. Excluding exceptional charges, pre-tax profit rose to £29.4m from £25.6m.

Like-for-like sales in the period were up 3.8% compared to a 3.7% increase in the first quarter and the company declared an interim dividend of 9.5p per share, up from 7.4p in 2015.

Chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “In the first half of 2016 we delivered good like-for-like growth by reinforcing the freshness and value of our offer in line with changing trends in the food-on-the-go market. We added to our ‘Balanced Choice’ range with sales growing strongly as more and more of our customers recognise the quality, range and value we offer in these healthier food choices.

"We have made an encouraging start to the second half of the year and are alert to any change in consumer demand that may result from the current economic uncertainty. Overall, we expect to deliver full-year growth in line with our previous expectations as well as further progress against our strategic plan."