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FTSE 250 movers: Greggs off the menu; Hochschild shines
(Sharecast News) - FTSE 250 (MCX) 20,004.80 0.26%
Bakery chain Greggs said on Thursday that it jumped past the £2bn sales mark in 2024, but reported a slowdown in like-for-like sales growth for the fourth quarter as weaker consumer confidence dented footfall on the high street.
For the year, total sales rose 11.3% to £2.01bn, with company managed shop LFL sales up 5.5%.
In the fourth quarter, total sales were up 7.7% while company managed shop LFL sales growth slowed to 2.5%. Greggs said this reflected "the more subdued high street footfall".
"Trading performance reflected a well-publicised more challenging market backdrop in the second half of 2024," it said.
Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said: "Amid weaker footfall in general across the UK high street in the last quarter of 2024, it's no wonder that Greggs' sales growth has slowed down. People are watching every penny and popping in for a coffee and a savoury or sweet snack is now starting to feel like a luxury rather than a transaction that requires no thought.
"Public outrage over Greggs adding another 5p to the price of a sausage roll to £1.30 shows how sensitive consumers are to price hikes. The cost of food has kept going up and we're reaching a tipping point where people are saying enough is enough, and they're cutting back on non-essentials.
Discount retailer B&M European Value Retail announced a special dividend of £151m in a trading update on Thursday, after reporting a strong third-quarter but also narrowed its full-year guidance.
Gold miners benefited from a jump in the price of the yellow metal, with Hochschild trading up.
Greencore, Primary Health Properties, Workspace Group and XPS Pensions Group were all lower after trading without entitlement to a dividend.
Market Movers
FTSE 250 - Risers
Hochschild Mining (HOC) 233.50p 5.18% Harworth Group (HWG) 164.50p 3.79% Alpha Group International (ALPH) 2,340.00p 3.54% Abrdn (ABDN) 137.00p 3.47% Elementis (ELM) 141.00p 3.22% IntegraFin Holding (IHP) 329.00p 2.97% Bloomsbury Publishing (BMY) 650.00p 2.85% Ashmore Group (ASHM) 147.70p 2.64% CMC Markets (CMCX) 248.00p 2.48% Ninety One (N91) 141.60p 2.46%
FTSE 250 - Fallers
Greggs (GRG) 2,250.00p -14.32% B&M European Value Retail S.A. (DI) (BME) 315.70p -9.44% Hays (HAS) 72.00p -4.64% Ocado Group (OCDO) 278.90p -3.99% PPHE Hotel Group Ltd (PPH) 1,290.00p -3.73% Trustpilot Group (TRST) 273.00p -3.53% Just Group (JUST) 145.20p -3.33% SThree (STEM) 276.00p -2.99% Mitchells & Butlers (MAB) 229.00p -2.14% Workspace Group (WKP) 449.50p -2.07%
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