Greggs shares soar 12% as serves up first half profit and sales beat
(Alliance News) - Greggs PLC on Wednesday said it is paring back capital expenditure plans as it reported half-year sales and profit ahead of expectations.
The Newcastle upon Tyne bakery and fast food chain said pretax profit improved 20% to GBP76.0 million in the 26 weeks to June 27 from GBP63.5 million a year before, with revenue up 7.2% to GBP1.10 billion from GBP1.03 billion, beating GBP73.1 million and GBP1.09 billion consensus, respectively, as cited by JPMorgan.
Operating profit increased 23% to GBP86.5 million from GBP70.4 million, ahead of GBP79.0 million consensus.
Profit growth reflected a "soft comparator period together with growth in grocery business, strong cost control and the phasing of cost inflation," Greggs said.
Company-managed shop like-for-like sales rose 2.1%, with franchised shop LFL sales up 1.3%, and additional growth from estate expansion and business-to-business partnership development.
"After a challenging 2025, we have delivered an improved sales performance and good cost control through the first half of 2026, resulting in strong profit growth," Greggs said in a trading statement.
Greggs shares shot up 13% to 1,914.00 pence each in London in response, making Greggs the best performing FTSE 250 stock. The stock set a new 52-week high of 1,915.00p.
The half-year dividend was held at 19.0p per share, and Greggs said its expectations for the full-year outcome are unchanged.
Greggs opened a net 34 new stores in the first half of 2026, growing the estate to 2,773 shops as at June 27. It expects around 100 to 110 net new shop openings in all of 2026, with an additional ten 'Greggs Express' convenience retailing trials.
Capex plans for 2026 have been pared to GBP180 million from GBP200 million and strong operating cash generation is expected to create capacity for additional shareholder returns.
Restoring the company's return on capital employed to a target of around 20% remains a "key area of focus" going forward, it added.
By Jeremy Cutler, Alliance News reporter
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