Revenues at frozen foods giant Nomad Foods Ltd increased by 3.8% to just over €1 billion for the first half of 2018, ending 30 June, the group said in its latest trading update.
In the second quarter, the group’s revenue increased by 6.6% versus the first quarter of the year, reaching €488 million.
Organic revenue growth for the second quarter was 1.3%, comprised of a 1.5% increase in price offset by a 0.2% drop in volume.
Recent Additions
Revenue growth in the second quarter rose 6.4 percentage points from the acquisition of Goodfella's and was offset by 1.1 percentage points from foreign exchange translation, the company said.
“We reported solid second-quarter results, highlighted by 1.3% organic revenue growth, 90 basis points of adjusted EBITDA margin expansion and 22% adjusted EPS growth,"said Stéfan Descheemaeker, Nomad Foods’ CEO. "Performance was particularly encouraging given this year's earlier Easter timing and the highly publicised summer heat waves throughout Europe."
Descheemaeker said that recent acquisitions at the company were proving "complimentary" to the business. "Goodfella's is performing well in our first few months of ownership and Aunt Bessie's, which closed on July 2nd, is expected to be immediately accretive," he said. "We are pleased with our year-to-date progress and are on pace to deliver another year of top and bottom line growth."
The group’s profit after tax for the first half of the year increased by 27% to €111 million, reflecting interest rate savings and lower depreciation and amortisation.
Raised Guidance
As a result of the solid performance, Nomad Foods said that it was raising its 2018 guidance, which will include the contribution from the recently-acquired Aunt Bessie’s.
The group now expects adjusted EBITDA of approximately €365 to €370 million.
“We remain uniquely positioned to capitalise on the favourable macro trends occurring within the frozen food space and are excited by the potential of our portfolio in both the near and long-term,” added Noam Gottesman, co-chairman and founder of Nomad Foods.
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Aidan O'Sullivan. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
