French vegetable products company Bonduelle Group has posted a third quarter turnover of €526.8 million, which is an increase of 11.1% compared to the same period last year.
This was driven by a combination of factors, the company said, including 'solid organic growth' (+ 2.2%), favourable exchange rates (+ 4.-%) and the integration of Ready Pac Foods (+ 5.5%) into the business, which was completed in March.
Over the first nine months of the year, Bonduelle has posted 4.7% growth, or 2% on a like-for-like basis.
Europe Performance
In Europe, the group's third quarter performance rose 0.9%, factoring in a variation at constant scope of consolidation and current exchange rates, while in the Non-Europe Zone, sales were up 4.5%.
'For quarter 3, the Europe zone showed renewed growth with + 0.9% both on a like for like basis and reported figures,' the company said in a statement , adding that this was 'an all the more remarkable performance over the past three months, given the fact that the fresh ready to use segment was heavily affected by adverse weather conditions in December and January in Spain and Italy, but more than offset by a return to growth for the canned segment and a very sharp activity rise for the frozen segment.'
Its Canned division, which accounts for the largest percentage of its turnover, saw a 3.9% increase, with Frozen rising by 4.5% and Fresh Processed seeing a decline of 5.6%.
Bonduelle announced the acquisition of California-based Ready Pac Foods on 21 March. The company said that this 'acquisition will strengthen Bonduelle’s international footprint and dramatically change its profile, making the U.S. the largest country of operations, continuing a longstanding track record of successful acquisitions in North America'.
© 2017 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine
