The bakery giant Greggs has said that its new strategy has made a positive impact, despite a fall in like-for-like sales and profits dipping by 0.8% in 2013.
Total sales rose by 3.8% to £768.2 million, whereas pre-tax profits had fallen by 36.7% to £33.2 million. When exceptional costs of millions of pounds were excluded, profits dropped 18.9% to £41.3 million.
Greggs said it was currently making good progress with its new plan which focused more on its food-to-go counter rather than its take-home bakery products.
Chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “Like-for-like sales were down 0.8% reflecting the tough and competitive trading conditions.
“I am encouraged by the improvement in performance in recent months as our new strategic focus started to deliver benefits.
“Market conditions are expected to remain challenging in 2014. It will be a year of further change for Greggs as we move forward with our plan to focus on the food-on-the-go market and build on positive recent trading momentum.”
