Convenience food maker Greencore grew revenues by a third year-on-year during the first half of its financial year, bringing in £770.8m (€898.1m) on the back of strong trade in food-to-go in the six months to late March.
Sales of food-to-go, which includes sandwiches, salads and chilled ready meals as well as Greencore's Irish ingredients trading business, rose 48% to a level some 8% above pre-Covid sales in the first half of 2019.
"We are very pleased to have delivered H1 revenues that are back above pre-Covid levels, which is a great achievement against a backdrop of mobility restrictions, supply challenges and emerging inflation," said Gary Kennedy, executive chair of Greencore.
"There has been encouraging momentum in revenue and profit conversion in the first seven weeks of H2, and we are confident in our ability to navigate our way through the current well-publicised macro challenges as we enter our peak seasonal trading period.
"Our strong market positions, close customer relationships and intense focus on efficiencies mean that we look to the future with optimism, and we expect to deliver a full year out-turn in line with market expectations."
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Greencore made a group operating profit of £7.2m for the period, up 84.9% from £3.9m a year prior, at an adjusted operating margin of 2.2% and earnings per share of 1.8 pence, compared to an adjusted loss of 1.4 pence in early 2021.
The company now has net debt, excluding lease liabilities, of £219.3m with "substantial undrawn headroom on debt facilities", and a group return on investment capital rate of 6.3%, up from 4.5% in 2021 and -0.6% in the first half of 2021.
Greencore also announced that its guidance for the full year is unchanged, and that it intends to recommence value return of up to £50m over the next two years, initially in the form of a share buyback programme.
The firm credited expanded product ranges and channel reach for the significant growth in revenue, and it has invested around £30m to deliver previously announced business wins by the end of the financial year.
Greencore will invest a further £24m in 2022 and 2023 as part of a plan to deliver an additional £30 per year in profit, and it has an "ongoing focus" on developing the necessary data and systems framework to effectively measure its sustainability performance.
The company said it had recouped input cost inflation through price increases and operational efficiencies, and that it is "fully committed to recovery of the additional inflationary challenges that have materialised since March 2022, and is progressing well in this regard.
"Though the inflationary environment remains volatile, the group expects to generate an FY22 outturn in line with current market expectations," it added in a trading statement.
It was reported earlier this month that Dublin Airport Authority chief executive Dalton Philips is leaving his role to become CEO at Greencore, replacing Patrick Coveney who left the company in March after 14 years at the helm.
(Pic: Getty Images)
