Greggs have hailed an 'exceptional' year that saw revenues and profits soar by double-digit figures as the nation's love affair with sausage rolls, pies and pasties shows no sign of slowing.

In their preliminary results for the 52 weeks to December 28, Greggs PLC announced a rise in revenues of 13.5 per cent to £1.168 billion, meaning they made more than £3million every day.

The baked goods giant now have more than 2,050 stores shops trading across high streets and business parks in the country - a figure that rose by 97 in the year.

Even without the new store openings, the figures were strong with like-for-like sales up 9.2 per cent in what was called a "record performance in 2019."

Profits came in at £108.3million for the year, up from £82.6million in 2018.

"2019 was an exceptional year of progress for Greggs, during which we experienced a sustained increase in customer visits as increased awareness and appreciation of our brand gathered momentum," said Roger Whiteside, Greggs CEO.

"Our exceptional performance was founded on the changes that we have made across our multi-year strategic investment programme, which has delivered transformational change across the business and has now set us up for the next phase of growth."

Looking ahead, Greggs said that early trading in 2020 had been hit due to the February storms and uncertainties over the impact over coronavirus.

But Mr Whiteside said that neither should stop the company from delivering improved results in the year to December 2020.

"We made a very strong start to 2020 in January, but in February saw a significant slowdown in sales growth as a result of the storms that have affected the UK," Mr Whiteside said.

"There is some uncertainty in the outlook, particularly given the potential impact of Coronavirus. This aside we expect to make year-on-year progress and will do so from a strong financial position, supporting our investment for further growth whilst also delivering good returns for all stakeholders."