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Bakery chain Greggs upgraded its outlook on full-year performance and announced plans to pay a special dividend to shareholders following stronger sales.
'[W]e anticipate reporting a full year outcome slightly ahead of our previous expectations when we report our preliminary results for 2021 on 8 March 2022,' the company said.
Sales for the financial year to 1 January 2022 were £1,230 million, a two-year increase of 5.3% compared with the equivalent period in 2019.
Across 2021 two-year like-for-like sales in company-managed shops were 3.3% lower than seen in 2019.
In the fourth quarter of 2021 two-year like-for-like sales in company-managed shops grew by 0.8% as a 'strong' performance in October was followed by more challenging conditions as consumers responded to precautionary messages relating to the new coronavirus variant, the company said.
The company expected to be in a position to make an additional distribution to shareholders of £30-to-40 million in 2022.
Looking ahead, the company said it expects to open around 150 net new stores in the year ahead.
'Whilst conditions in the first few months of 2022 are likely to remain challenging, we are confident that we are well placed to make progress on the many attractive opportunities that lie ahead.'