London / UK. (ffg) British Finsbury Food Group PLC, a leading UK speciality bakery manufacturer of cake, bread and morning goods for both the retail and foodservice channels, is providing an update on trading for the full financial year, ended 30 June 2018, prior to entering its close period.
Total Group sales revenues grew on a like for like basis to 290.2 million GBP, an increase of 2.4 percent on the prior year (like for like revenue is the revenue from operations excluding the revenue from the closed bakeries during the first half of the current year). Due to the prior year benefiting from the full 12 months trading of the bakeries closed in the first half of the year, total Group revenue, including the closed businesses, declined 3.4 percent to 303.6 million GBP. The Group is confident of delivering profits in line with market expectations.
The core UK Bakery division grew 2.8 percent on a like for like basis, which is ahead of the wider market. The Overseas division, the Group’s 50 percent owned European business, declined by 0.7 percent.
In what has been a very challenging environment with unprecedented commodity and labour inflation, the Group has done well to recover those cost pressures through a combination of operational efficiency and price recovery and at the same time, accelerating the reshaping of its asset footprint to drive further efficiency.
Looking ahead, the current UK economic environment remains challenging and is showing little sign of abating from the levels experienced and reported in previous statements. Nonetheless, the Board believes the Group remains well positioned to maintain its market leading position, continuing to utilise its strong balance sheet to invest in innovation and efficiency, to continue to deliver growth and improved shareholder value over the period ahead.
Chief Executive John Duffy: «We are pleased with the resilient performance of the Group in what has once again been a period of market-wide inflationary pressure, illustrating that the work and investment undertaken in prior periods has continued to bear fruit. The Group is robust, well diversified and in a strong position to continue to deliver on its strategic objectives in the period ahead».
