Greggs returns to quarterly sales growth after strong Christmas

LONDON, Jan 9 (Reuters) - British baker Greggs (LSE: GRG.L - news) said it returned to sales growth in the fourth quarter, helped by strong trading in the Christmas period and putting it on track to post annual results in line with its expectations.

The company, which sells Christmas mince pies as well as iced buns and sandwiches, said on Thursday that like-for-like sales grew 2.6 percent in its fiscal fourth quarter, with sales in the five week festive period up 3.1 percent.

Greggs said underlying sales over its fiscal year 2013 fell 0.8 percent, reflecting difficult trading conditions earlier in the period.

The baker last year said it was refocusing on its core food-on-the-go business to help it return to sales growth, abandoning a plan to expand into new areas such as cafes.