25th Feb 2019 11:09
LONDON (Alliance News) - Finsbury Food Group PLC on Monday said it swung to an interim profit as it laqunched new products in the vegan and gluten free range.
For the six weeks to December 29, the cake and bread manufacturer posted pretax profit of GBP7.5 million compared to a GBP1.2 million loss in the comparative period a year ago.
Profit from operating activities came in at GBP8.0 million compared to a GBP888,000 loss a year ago.
Total group revenue fell 3.5% to GBP152.3 million, reflecting the closure of some businesses. On a like-for-like basis, revenue increased slightly to GBP145.5 million from GBP144.8 million, with UK baker sales up 1.7%.
On an operational basis, the company ventured into the markets of gluten free, with the acquisition of Ultrapharm, a manufacturer of gluten free bread both in the UK and in Europe.
It also expanded into the vegan proposition by launching a vegan brioche-style bun into Foodservice.
"In what has been a challenging period, we are pleased to report another robust set of financials, testament to the strength of our business and our position in the market place," Chief Executive John Duffy said.
He added: "This resilience comes from a number of areas, both historic and ongoing: our capital investment, the diversification of the group into foodservice and high growth areas such as Free From, and our constant drive for efficiency. However importantly, alongside this, our relentless drive to deliver on customer trends and ensure our products are not only best in class, but also what customers are looking for. Our launch of a new 'Vegan' brioche style burger bun is testament to this."
The food maker upped its interim dividend by 5.5% to 1.16 pence per share from 1.1p paid to shareholders a year ago.
Looking ahead, the company said that despite the market pressures ahead its position is "solid" and it is well positioned for both the short and longer term.
Finsbury Food shares were trading down 1.8% at 80.50 pence each.
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