Household products maker McBride has posted a 1.7% drop in revenue at constant currency levels in full-year 2019/20, having seen a surge in demand for its cleaning products in the second half of the year.
Following what chief executive Chris Smith described as a "tough" first half, the business recovered in the last four months of the year to 30 June, with increased demand for cleaning, dishwash and aerosol products.
Group revenue came in at £706.2 million (€785.4 million) for the year (from continuing operations), while revenue in its Household division was £671 million (€746.2 million), a flat performance at constant currency levels.
The group said the revenue reduction was 'almost entirely' driven by the company's decision to exit UK aerosol manufacture in the fourth quarter of the previous financial year.
Operating profit for the year was £15.4 million, a 42% drop from the £26.6 million it reported a year earlier.
'Solid Performance'
"The group has delivered a solid FY20 performance overall," Smith said. "Following a tough first half year, demand for many of our cleaning products rose strongly as a result of COVID-19.
"I am very proud of the way the McBride team has responded to the numerous challenges and opportunities that have arisen from the pandemic and the improved second half financial performance."
The group's Household division saw a 1.4% decline in revenue in the first half of the year, which was countered by a 1.3% increase in the second half. In the UK, the division saw a 7.7% decline at constant currency levels, however its South (including Spain and Italy) and East (Germany, Poland and other Eastern European countries) regions saw growth.
Programme Compass
The group said that it has completed the first phase of a review process, Programme Compass, under which it aims to grow annual revenues to €1 billion in the next five years.
It said that 'identified and targeted opportunities' for profitable growth will enable the business to grow beyond market trends, adding that it is implementing a new 'divisional approach' in order to boost portfolio improvements.
"From January 2021, we will establish separately managed divisions, each with their own focused strategies, and I am confident that the new McBride teams will deliver on our new ambitions," Smith noted.
It also plans to commence operations at a new factory in Malaysia in December of this year, with the exit of an old facility planned for March 2021, while production at its Barrow site in the UK is due to cease in October.
© 2020 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
