Greggs reports like-for-likes up 4.7% in 2015, sales slowed in Fourth Quarter: Greggs has reported total sales grew 5.2% in 2015 and were up 4.7% on a like-for-like basis. Sales slowed in its Fourth Quarter with like-for-likes up 2.3%. Chief executive Roger Whiteside said: “2015 saw us deliver another excellent year of progress as we continue to transform Greggs into a modern, well-invested food-on-the-go retailer. We anticipate that we will report full year results for 2015 in line with our previous expectations. In the year ahead we will continue with the implementation of our strategic plan to enable the business to compete more effectively in the food-on-the-go market.” The company added: “For our 2015 financial year as a whole (52 weeks ended 2 January 2016) total sales grew by 5.2% on a comparable 52 week basis and company-managed shop like-for-like sales grew by 4.7%. As we expected, like-for-like sales growth slowed to 2.3% in the fourth quarter as we came up against stronger comparatives and the impact of weaker footfall in some shopping locations. Sales over the Christmas period were in line with the overall trend for the fourth quarter. Sales growth has been particularly strong in sandwiches and drinks, including our healthier options ‘Balanced Choice’ range including new salads and ‘no added sugar’ drinks. Our new hot food menu, with an improved hot sandwich range and fresh soups, is also selling well as customers become increasingly aware of our new food-on-the-go options. Seasonal favourites such as our award-winning mince pies and Festive Bake made a strong contribution to sales over the Christmas and New Year period. Customer demand for breakfast-on-the-go continues to make this our fastest growing part of the day with sales of coffee continuing to grow strongly. We plan to add ‘flat white’ and an improved ‘mocha’ to our coffee menu early in the New Year. During the year we opened 122 new shops (including 61 franchised units) and closed 74, growing the estate to 1,698 shops trading as at 2 January 2016. We now have 105 franchised shops operated by partners in travel and other convenience locations. In 2015, we completed 222 shop refurbishments including the conversion of 20 of our larger bakery cafés to the “bakery food-on-the-go” format. This transformational programme continues to go well and we will invest at a similar rate in the year ahead. Since our last update, trading has been broadly consistent with our plans and we anticipate that we will report full year results in line with our previous expectations when we make our preliminary announcement on 1 March 2016. In the year ahead we will continue with the implementation of our strategic plan to transform the business so that it can be ever more competitive in the food-on-the-go market, whilst also driving efficiencies and adding capacity for further sustainable growth.”

D&D London reports 4.2% festive like-for-likes: Restaurant chain D&D London saw UK like-for-like sales rise 4.2% last month. The group saw revenues rise 12.7% to £103.5 million in the year to March 31 2015.Openings in 2015 included the German Gymnasium in King’s Cross and the newly refurbished Sartoria in Savile Row. Des Gunewardena, chairman of D&D London, said the next opening would be a refurbishment at 100 Wardour Street in Soho. “The site will include a restaurant, bar and lounge with all day dining and live music,” he said. The company also toasted robust trading from its restaurants in Leeds – Crafthouse and Angelica – despite the impact of floods in the city and surrounding areas. As well as London, D&D has restaurants in Paris, New York and Tokyo. 

Just Eat reports like-for-like growth of 46% in 2015: Just Eat saw like-for-like sales grow 47% in 2015. Chief executive David Buttress said: “I am delighted with our growth through 2015, which provides an excellent base for further development of our business. We enter 2016 with continuing confidence.” Just Eat will report 2015 full year results on 1 March 2016.

Cineworld reports revenue growth, expands Starbucks concessions: Cineworld has reported strong revenue growth with increased pro forma box office revenues of 11.6% for the 52 week period ended 31 December 2015. There was admissions growth in both the UK & Ireland and CEE & Israel. In the fourth quarter there were three strong film performances, “Spectre”, “Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2” and “Star Wars: The Force Awakens”. The increase in admissions and the nature of the film mix drove the growth in retail revenues (which increased by 13.7%) as well as advertising and distribution revenues, both of which are reflected within the 13.4% increase in Other Income. The company now operates over 2,000 screens, achieving a record number of 18 site openings during 2015, ten in the UK and eight in CEE and Israel. The company stated: “During the period we continued to expand the breadth of our customer experience, with our first UK VIP Experience launched in Sheffield in December, and we increased the number of IMAX screens (to 28) and 4DX screens (to 14). We have also continued to increase the number of Starbucks outlets in our UK cinemas, taking the total number to 17 at 31 December 2015. We are continuing with our strategic expansion and renovation plans during 2016 when there are 13 new sites scheduled to open, six in the UK and seven in CEE and Israel, and several major refurbishments. There is an attractive film slate for 2016 which includes “Fantastic Beasts And Where To Find Them”, “The BFG”, “Star Wars: Rogue One”, “Finding Dory” and “Captain America: Civil War”. With a strong balance sheet and our plans for continued expansion, we look forward to delivering further value to shareholders in the forthcoming year”. The full year results will be announced on 10 March 2016.