June's hot weather sees bakery chain sales cool

GREGGS has warned that its profits could dip after June's hot weather saw fewer people shopping in its stores. The surprise update from the Newcastle firm came despite sales in the first half of the year topping £1bn.

- TOM KEIGHLEY

In a trading update, Greggs said that revenues in the first half of the year had grown by 6.9% to £1.027bn.

On a like-for-like basis - taking out the impact of new stores sales grew 2.6% compared to the same period last year.

Greggs said that it had seen good sales in May but that growth had slowed in June as high temperatures had an impact on how its customers behaved. Provisional data from the Met Office suggests last month was the second warmest June since records began in 1884.

That slowdown in trade sparked a warning from Greggs that its full-year operating profit could be “modestly below” the figure achieved in 2024. Last year, Greggs reported an operating profit of £195.3m.