31st Jan 2017 07:49
LONDON (Alliance News) - Convenience foods maker Greencore Group PLC on Tuesday said its revenue rose in the first quarter of its financial year and said its integration of recent US acquisition Peacock Foods is on track, albeit in the early stages.
Greencore said total revenue in the 13 weeks to December 30 rose 17% year-on-year to GBP417.0 million. Excluding favourable currency effects from the weak pound and the contribution from the Sandwich Factory business acquired in July 2016, revenue rose 9.1% in the quarter.
The group said its Convenience Foods arm delivered 8.9% like-for-like, constant currency revenue growth in the quarter year-on-year, driven by its food-to-go business which is benefiting from strong category growth and from the roll-out of new business wins secured in the prior financial year.
Like-for-like revenue in the US rose 8.0% in the quarter and by 31% in reported currencies, driven largely by the addition of operations in Seattle. US revenue in the period does not include Peacock Foods, whose acquisition was only recently completed.
In November, Greencore agreed to acquire US peer Peacock for GBP747.5 million in a deal which will significantly increase the scale of its US business. Peacock has been trading in line with Greencore's expectations since the deal completed on December 30 and the integration of the two business remains on track, Greencore said.
In a separate announcement on Tuesday, Greencore said Thomas Sampson, the former chief executive of Peacock, has joined its board as a non-executive director.
Greencore said it anticipates inflation in raw material and packaging prices over the rest of its financial year, though believes supply chain, purchasing and pricing initiatives it has undertaken will mitigate these pressures.
Notwithstanding any investment costs needed in the business, Greencore said it remains confident on meeting market expectations in the year to the end of September 2017.
By Sam Unsted; [email protected]; @SamUAtAlliance
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