UK: Finsbury names preliminary results 2007

London / UK. (ffg) British Finsbury Food Group PLC, a leading manufacturer of premium and celebration cakes, low fat slices and speciality, organic and gluten free breads, announces its preliminary results for the year ended with June 2007. The highlights:

  • Turnover up 50 percent to 109,8 million GBP (2006: 73,3 million GBP).
  • Operating profit up 95 percent to 5,4 million GBP (2006: 2,8 million GBP).
  • Profit before tax and exceptional items up 89 percent to 4,4 million GBP (2006: 2,3 million GBP).
  • Normalised earnings per share up 39 percent to 9,8 Pence (2006: 7,1 Pence).
  • Proposed dividend up 33 percent to two Pence per share (2006: 1,5 Pence).
  • 37,3 million GBP acquisition of the Lightbody Group Ltd completed in February 2007.
  • Major debt funding facility of over 40 million GBP agreed with HSBC Bank PLC.
  • Successful placing of 12,5 million GBP new ordinary shares raising 10,6 million GBP.
  • Integration of California Cakes Ltd into the Lightbody business.

Commenting on the results Finsbury´s CEO Dave Brooks says: «I am delighted to be delivering a record set of results for the Group. The year to June 2007 has been a year of major transformation. We opened the year with annualised sales of around 90 million GBP and our annualised sales for the year to June 2008 are now forecast to exceed 150 million GBP, which makes us the number two player in the UK cake industry». However, Finsbury also says that its bakery businesses had suffered under rising input costs. And the «every-day» bakery sector is suffering more than the premium sector as consumers are willing to pay more for the products … (full text).

Subsidiaries of London-based Finsbury Food Group PLC are: Memory Lane Cakes Ltd (Cardiff); Lightbody Group Ltd (Hamilton); Nicholas and Harris Ltd (Salisbury); California Cake Company Ltd (Coatbridge); Campbells Cake Company Ltd (Twechar); United Central Bakeries Ltd (West Lothian) and Lightbody Europe SARL (Rennes / FR).

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