Bakkavor: announces 2015 full year results

Reykjavik / IS. (bkg) Islandic Bakkavor Group, the United Kingdom’s leading fresh prepared foods manufacturer, announced its full year results for the 52 weeks ended 26 December 2015. Highlights:

• Continued revenue growth, with a strong recovery in our International businesses
• Adjusted Ebitda margin improvement underpinned by productivity investments
• Leverage ratio now less than three times through excellent cash conversion
• Greater focus on growth markets through acquisition and investment
• Strengthening of ownership structure supports Group’s long term strategic objectives
• Part-redemption of Senior Secured Notes leads to more cost effective financing

Commenting on the results, Agust Gudmundsson, Chief Executive Officer said: «I am very pleased that as we celebrate Bakkavor’s 30th anniversary in 2016 we can report that the Group is in a very strong position, with revenue growth, margin improvement and excellent cash conversion. In January this year we also announced the strengthening of the Group’s ownership structure and I am delighted to welcome The Baupost Group LLC, our new shareholder, to the Group. This marks a turning point for Bakkavor and we look forward to working with Baupost to deliver on our long term strategic objectives».

Results in million GBP	Q4/2015	Q4/2014	Change	FY/2015	FY/2014	Change
Revenue	419.3	412.4	2%	1’674.5	1’633.5	3%
Like-for-like Revenue	414.5	410.1	1%	1’646.2	1’620.2	2%
Adjusted Ebitda	34.0	27.5	24%	129.7	113.3	14%
Adjusted Ebitda margin	8.1%	6.7%	140bps	7.7%	6.9%	80bps
Free cash flow	27.2	12.7	14.5	92.6	43.7	48.9

 

Outlook

Against a background of challenging market conditions, the Group has, once again, reported an excellent set of results. The Group expects trading conditions to remain challenging over the coming months due to pressures from the competitive retailer environment and rising labour costs. However, we are confident about our future performance given the positive market dynamics and our ongoing commitment to invest. The complete statement is available on the Group’s web server.