Recent sales have been strong in Wales

But Britain's biggest High Street baker said it saw signs growth in the sandwich market was slowing down.

The Newcastle-based group, which owns more than 1,200 Greggs and Bakers Oven shops, served up 2003 pre-tax profits of �40.5m ($73.82m).

Greggs said like-for-like sales in the first nine weeks of the year had risen by 3.1%.

'Strong competition'

Chairman Derek Netherton said: "There are some signs that the growth of the sandwich market may be slowing after the rapid expansion of recent years."

He added: "We are facing strong competition from both new and established operators."

Greggs said its performance had been particularly strong in Wales and south-west England.