BAKERY chain Greggs has issued a profits warning after taking a sales hit from the Beast from the East and slower spring trading.

The Newcastle-based pasty and sandwich seller - which has nearly 1,900 shops across the UK - saw like-for-like sales growth in company-managed outlets slow sharply to 1.3% in the first 18 weeks of the year, down from 3.5% a year earlier.

Greggs said the severe weather in March compounded general weaker trading conditions seen in early spring, with demand for its food-to-go range impacted in particular as it was forced to shut shops in a raft of locations.

It added the number of sales rung up at its tills was lower in the 18-week period.

While sales have since rebounded in May so far, Greggs said it remains "cautious" over the trading outlook and warned full-year underlying profits were expected to be broadly flat.

The group said: "The combination of these factors, along with our strong comparative performance in the same period of 2017, has made for a challenging trading environment throughout March and April.

"Sales in May have started more strongly than we experienced throughout March and April, however given the uncertainties over market footfall we are cautious in respect of the outlook for sales in the balance of the year.

"Taking into account trading conditions in the year to date, and our more cautious outlook, we currently believe that underlying profits for the year are likely to be at a similar level to last year."

The group had started 2018 with strong trading, having reported sales up 3.2% in the first two months, but quickly saw conditions worsen as so-called shopper footfall slowed amid the Beast from the East snow disruption and general cautious consumer conditions.

It comes as a gloomy report from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) also out on Wednesday found that sales growth "fell off a cliff" in April, with its BRC-KPMG retail sales monitor showing a 4.2% drop in like-for-like sales compared with a year earlier, while total sales fell by a record 3.1%.

Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell, said the Greggs update raised concerns of wider trading woes for the chain.

He said: "While you can argue that weather is a one-off issue, general footfall weakness suggests a more serious problem, at least in the short term."

He added: "The idea of reinventing itself to a 'food-to-go' chain has been in motion for some time and the business has seen success with more mainstream items like lower calorie wraps and porridge.

"However, there is a danger that Greggs' transformation is happening at the wrong time with consumers increasingly cautious about how they spend money."

But Greggs insisted it was "well-placed" for summer trading with a menu featuring new sandwiches and salads - such as feta and beetroot dip with grains and lemon - and it said it was extending its value meal deals offer.

It said it was keeping a tight control on costs, with food price inflation also easing back as expected.