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Sausage roll maker Greggs has said profits could soon return to pre-pandemic levels as sales have picked up strongly since the reopening of essential retailers last month.
The bakery chain, which sank to its first loss in 37 years in 2020 due to the pandemic, said sales growth since 12 April had been 'positive', partly reflecting the return of shoppers to the High Street.
Although it did not give an exact figure for the period, sales for the most recent eight weeks to May 8 dropped just 3.9 per cent, the company said - a big improvement from a 23.3 per cent fall in the 10 weeks to March 13.
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Greggs bakeries were shut for the first lockdown last year, but since then stores have been open for takeaways and it has rolled out delivery with Just Eat from 800 sites.
Store sales have been depressed because of the substantial fall in people heading to city centre locations and travel hubs, but that has improved since the 12 April, according to the baker.
'Sales have recovered well in recent weeks as out-of-home activity levels have increased, albeit in the absence of competition from indoor seated catering operators,' Greggs told investors in an update on Monday morning.
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'If restrictions continue to ease in line with current plans then we now expect our overall sales performance for the year to be stronger than we had previously anticipated.'
On the back of the sales improvement, it said profits could be 'materially higher' than previously expected and return to 'around' 2019 levels this year - given that no new Covid restrictions are introduced.
Shares in FTSE 250 listed Greggs jumped almost 10 per cent to £25.74 in early trading on Monday.
Riding high in recent months, they are about 20 per cent higher than they were in February last year before the stock market crash.
The group raked in £352million in sales in the 18 weeks to May 8, up from £280million last year as stores remained closed for large parts of the period, but down from £373million in 2019, before the pandemic.
Like many of its rivals, it tried to make up for lost sales through home deliveries, which represented around 8 per cent of the company's sales in the period.
Customers are now able to order from 800 Greggs across the country via, although that is less than half of its 2,101 shops.
Despite slumping to an annual loss of £13.7million in 2020, the baker has not reined in its expansion plans, opening 34 shops in the first 18 weeks of 2021.
Earlier this year, it said it was aiming to open some 100 new stores this year with the creation of 1,000 jobs.
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