WASHINGTON: International convenience food business Greencore has recorded revenue of £417m in the 13 weeks to the end of December, up 17.1 % on the same time the previous year. In a trading update issued ahead of its AGM today, Greencore said it remained confident in its ability to deliver a full year performance in line with market expectations. Greencore said its Convenience Foods division recorded first quarter revenues of £401.6m, 16.4% ahead of the previous year on a reported basis and up 8.9% on a like for like basis. In the UK, Greencore said its first quarter revenues were up 13.9% on a reported basis and 9% higher on a like for like basis. The rise came on the back of strong growth in its “Food to Go’ business, which continues to benefit from robust category growth and the roll-out of new business deals agreed in 2016.
Greencore’s UK clients include Marks & Spencer, Waitrose, Sainsbury’s and Tesco. Reported revenue in the company’s US division jumped by 31.2% in the three month period, while like for like revenue rose by 8%, driven mainly by the addition of operations in Seattle. Greencore said its Ingredients and Property division, which now represents less than 5% of group revenue, recorded revenues of £15.4m for the 13 week period, £4.5m or 41.3% higher on a reported basis and 16.5% higher on a like for like basis. The company noted that growth in the division has been positively impacted by increasing demand in the global dairy markets.
Greencore also said that trading in the recently acquired Peacock Foods business in the US was in line with expectations, adding that its integration plan is already progressing well. Looking ahead, Greencore said that inflation in raw material and packaging prices and labour costs are expected to rise for the rest of the year, although it expects that the combination of its supply chain, purchasing and pricing initiatives will mitigate these impacts. “Overall the business is delivering a complex investment and change agenda to drive both the US integration and the new capacity additions that support the significant new business in the UK”, the company added. The company also announced today that it had appointed Thomas Sampson, the former CEO of Peacock Foods, as a non-executive director with effect from February.
