UK’s Greggs appoints new CEO, sees full-year ahead of expectations By Reuters

LONDON (Reuters) – British food-to-go retailer Greggs said its retail and property director Roisin Currie would succeed Roger Whiteside as chief executive in May, as it reported a 0.8% rise in like-for-like sales for its fourth quarter compared to two years ago.

The company, known for its sausage rolls, sandwiches and cakes, said it anticipated its full-year outcome would be slightly ahead of its previous expectations.

Greggs, which trades from 2,181 shops, said a strong performance in October was followed by more challenging conditions as consumers responded to precautionary messages relating to the Omicron coronavirus variant.

The company said it also had to cope with continued disruption to staffing and supply chains in the quarter, and said conditions in the first few months of 2022 were likely to remain challenging.

“Greggs has made great progress in 2021 despite tough trading conditions,” Whiteside said.

Total sales in 2021 were 1.23 billion pounds ($1.66 billion), it said, against 811 million pounds in 2020 when it was hit by COVID-19 lockdown restrictions, and 1.17 billion pounds in 2019.

The company ended the year with cash of 198 million pounds, which it said would allow it open about 150 new stores this year, develop digital channels and extend its trading day.

Greggs, which sold 6.7 million of its shop-baked mince pies over the festive season, said it would also be able to pay an addition 30-40 million pounds to shareholders in a special dividend.

Whiteside had given notice of his intention to retire, Greggs said.

($1 = 0.7400 pounds)