Convenience foods giant Greencore has posted a 46% increase in reported revenue for the first half of its 2017 financial year, to £1.01 billion (2016: £691.6 million).
On a pro forma basis, revenue was up 7.3%.
The group's increased performance was boosted by the acquisition of Peacock Foods last December, 'which has transformed Greencore’s market and channel position in the US and created a strong platform for long‐term profitable growth', the company said.
UK Performance
The group's convenience foods division in the UK & Ireland saw a 16.1% increase in revenue (+10.6% on a pro forma basis), with operating profit roughly in line with last year, at £46.8 million.
The division saw 'strong growth in the period, notwithstanding a challenging political, economic and customer backdrop', the company said, with its strong food to go business and new launches in its prepared meals operation helping to boost performance.
In the US, its convenience foods division posted a 220.8% increase in revenue, again driven by the Peacock Foods acquisition.
Transformational Period
“This has been a transformational period for Greencore following the acquisition and integration of Peacock Foods in the US," commented Patrick Coveney, Greencore chief executive. "Against a backdrop of considerable change across the Group, we are pleased to be reporting strong revenue and profit growth for the first half of the year."
Coveney added that the addition of Peacock Foods "has transformed our market and channel position and has given us a growth platform of real scale. The enhanced capabilities, product offerings, and customer relationships that have been added to the Group in a short space of time, combined with the strength of our underlying business, mean that we are confident of making further progress in FY17 and beyond.”
In terms of the year ahead, Greencore noted that the Peacock Foods acquisition has increased its exposure to Sterling-Dollar exchange rates. 'If the current rates are sustained, this will result in a modest adverse impact on translated US profits in the second half,' it said.
© 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.
