Caffè Nero has reported that its latest six-month sales averaged 104% of levels recorded before the pandemic.
In what it described as a strong trading period, the business announced UK sales of £150m in the six months from July 2022 to November 2022, up 17% year-on-year.
Caffe Nero also reported sales during the key Christmas trading month of December reached 110% of pre-pandemic levels and were up 9.5% year-on-year. The business said it had achieved record weekly sales of £7.9m in the week starting 5 December.
Seven new stores were opened in the period, and the business reported that delivery sales were £3.5m, with it bringing in new delivery partners Deliveroo and Just Eat.
It’s ‘coffee at home’ business achieved sales of £1.5m and were supported by a new partnership with Waitrose and its existing partnerships with Amazon, Ocado, Sainsbury’s and the Ambassador Theatre Group.
Sales rose 20% year-on-year to £231m at group level, with the business operating 1,023 stores across 10 countries over the period.
“We’ve seen a very encouraging first half of our financial year,” said Caffè Nero founder and group CEO Gerry Ford. “Despite significant inflationary pressures which have continued to mount since June, we have demonstrated strong cost control and delivered solid sales growth.
“We traded at 110% of pre-pandemic sales in December and had record weekly sales. That is a testament to the hard work and outstanding service from our store teams as well as a very well received Christmas menu with our customers. We expect to see sales continue to improve further over the coming weeks and months.”
Caffè Nero also reported its annual results for the financial year ending May 2022.
UK sales increased 65%, from £153.3m to £254m, with UK EBITDA at £46.7m, which was 19% above the previous year. The business said this was the result of the progressive lifting of Covid restrictions during the financial year as well as the resumption of Caffè Nero’s store opening programme.
Worldwide group sales increased 70% to £389m over the year, with group EBITDA up 50% to £57.7m.
“FY22 was a period of recovery for the world and for our business,” said Ford. “Sales grew as the year progressed, which shows our brand strength and the desire of customers to come back in once health restrictions were lifted.”
No comments yet