Greggs - Rate of recovery continues to surprise

Greggs’ Q221 trading has surprised on the upside, with positive two-year like-for-like (lfl) sales growth continuing through the end of the period, having previously reported a return to growth earlier than expected. We upgrade our revenue forecasts for FY21, assuming a positive lfl outturn for the rest of the year, versus negative previously, leading to PBT upgrades for FY21 and FY22 of 18%. The strength of the recovery also leads us to increase our dividend forecast for FY21 by more than 150%. The P/E for FY22 of 22.4x is consistent with Greggs’ average trading multiples before COVID-19, reflecting its medium-term growth outlook and shareholder returns, but below prior peak multiples.