Caffè Nero H1 sales rise 17% to £265m
In the UK, Caffè Nero reported sales of £200m, representing strong overall growth of 10.1%
The Caffè Nero Group has today (13 February) announced “strong trading” for the first half of 2024, including sales growth of 17% over the same period last year.
At group level, the business revealed sales for H1 2024 of £265m, an increase of 10% in like for like sales.
In the UK, Caffè Nero reported sales of £200m, representing strong overall growth of 10.1%. Caffè Nero currently operates 1,057 stores across 10 countries with 10,000 employees, serving over 150 million customers a year.
The group’s airport business also continued to move forward, opening four sites during the period. The group now operates 43 stores in 13 airports.
Caffè Nero UK also reported “strong trading” during the key Christmas period. In November and December 2023, sales exceeded £60m, which was a 7% like for like sales increase compared to 2022.
Despite facing challenging costs in the first half, driven by ongoing inflationary pressures, the Ford family-owned and run Caffè Nero Group opened 43 new stores, with 20 of those new stores in the UK and Ireland.
Caffè Nero founder and group CEO, Gerry Ford said: “We’ve seen a very encouraging first half. Despite significant ongoing inflationary pressures that had a notable effect on our business, we have delivered solid sales growth and demonstrated strong cost control.
“This is a testament to the hard work and outstanding service from our store teams as well as a very well received menu innovation in the UK including the Amaretto Latte in the autumn and a hugely successful Christmas menu. We expect to see sales continue to improve further over the coming weeks and months.”
In addition, the group reported a 16% sales rise to £450m, with group EBITDA at £41.7m, during FY23, ending May 2023. During the year the group restarted its openings programme and added 63 new stores across the world.
The Caffè Nero UK business increased sales from £254m (FY22) to £302m (FY23), a rise of 19%, with UK EBITDA at £32.9m.
Commenting on the FY23 annual accounts, Ford said: “FY23 was a year of recovery, bringing the business out of the Covid pandemic period. Each month provided a positive progression in sales, another step forward, and by the end of the financial year we felt we had returned to pre-pandemic levels. I’m pleased with the resilience the business showed during the year and the progress we made in the trading conditions we faced.”
