Newcastle bakery chain Greggs has warned profits will not recover until at least 2022 as it braced itself for annual losses of up to £15m.
The group – which recently axed 820 jobs because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic – said like-for-like sales fell 18.9% on average year-on-year over its fourth quarter to January 2.
Greggs said total sales for the year slumped by nearly a third – 31% – to £811m, but added that Government support had helped limit full-year pre-tax losses.
It said while there was “significant uncertainty” over the outlook due to ongoing lockdowns and Covid-19 measures, it is not expecting profits to recover to pre-pandemic levels for another two years “at the earliest”.
Greggs chief executive Roger Whiteside said: ““In a year like no other I am enormously proud of the way in which our team has risen to the challenges we have faced, whilst looking after the interests of all stakeholders and providing support for communities.
"Whilst the impact of Covid-19 has been enormous, we have established working practices that allow us to provide takeaway food services under the different levels of restrictions we have experienced. The breadth of Greggs' customer base provides ongoing demand for our services which, combined with our diverse geographical spread, has demonstrated the resilience of our business.
"With customers spending more time at home we have successfully developed our partnership with Just Eat to offer delivery services and have also seen strong sales through our longstanding partnership with Iceland, offering our products for home baking.
"We have resumed opening new shops where we see good opportunities, with those sites accessed by car performing particularly well.
"In light of the recent Government announcements significant uncertainties remain in the near-term.
"We have taken action to position Greggs to withstand further short-term shocks and are optimistic about our prospects for growth once social restrictions are lifted."
During the period, Greggs opened 84 new shops and closed 56, giving it 2,078 around the country.
