22 November 2022
Cranswick plc (“Cranswick” or “the Company” or “the Group”), a leading UK food producer, today announces its unaudited results for the 26 weeks ended 24 September 2022.
Commercial and strategic progress:
· Strong revenue growth reflecting inflation recovery with like-for-like volumes in line with the prior period
· Broad-based inflationary pressure across the Group’s cost base continues to be well controlled
· Total capital expenditure of £38.1m across the Group’s asset base to add capacity, capability and drive efficiency
· New £32m Hull Breaded Poultry facility successfully commissioned at the start of the period with retail and food service customers now on board
· Installation of third contact cooking line at the Hull Cooked Bacon facility to add capacity and capability
· Further investment in the Group’s pig farming operations with self-sufficiency now more than 40%
Sustainability highlights:
· Six major solar panel installations at manufacturing sites approved, increasing green energy generation
· Progress made on transitioning the fleet to clean energy through investment in electric vehicles, Bio LPG and renewable diesel
· Leading Food Partner status achieved with FareShare for commitment to reducing food waste and providing meals for people in need
Financial highlights * :
| H1 22 | H1 21 | Change(Reported) | Change(Like-for-like †) | |
| Revenue | £1,116.3m | £993.1m | +12.4% | +10.7% |
| Adjusted Group operating profit | £68.4m | £69.6m | -1.7% | |
| Adjusted Group operating margin | 6.1% | 7.0% | -88bps | |
| Adjusted profit before tax | £66.0m | £68.3m | -3.4% | |
| Adjusted earnings per share | 98.6p | 103.5p | -4.7% | |
· Statutory profit before tax 2.7% lower at £61.5m (2021: £63.2m)
· Statutory earnings per share down 3.9% to 92.0p (2021: 95.7p)
· Interim dividend increased by 3.0% to 20.6p (2021: 20.0p)
· Return on capital employed‡ at 15.9% (2021: 17.8%)
· Net debt (excluding IFRS 16 lease liabilities) of £61.1m (2021: £18.6m and March 2022: £36.2m)
· Robust balance sheet and significant headroom
Adam Couch, Cranswick’s Chief Executive Officer commented:
“We have made further commercial and strategic progress in what continues to be a relentlessly challenging operating environment.
“Our unwavering focus on quality, value, innovation and our people, along with our commitment to delivering great tasting food, created with passion for our customers and the UK consumer, continue to drive our competitive advantage. We continue to invest to meet the needs of our customers, building our capacity and capability whilst driving efficiency across new and existing facilities.
“I want to thank our colleagues and all our stakeholders for their continued support and commitment and we look forward to working together to drive our shared agenda.
“Our outlook for the current financial year is unchanged. Notwithstanding the many challenges that we, our industry and the wider economy face, the strengths of our business, which include our diverse and long-standing customer base, breadth and quality of products and channels, robust financial position and industry leading infrastructure, will support the further development of Cranswick over the longer term.”
| * | Adjusted and like-for-like references throughout this statement refer to non-IFRS measures or Alternative Performance Measures (‘APMs’). Definitions and reconciliations of the APMs to IFRS measures are provided in Note 14. |
| †| For comparative purposes, like-for-like revenues exclude the current year contribution from prior year acquisitions prior to the anniversary of their purchase. |
| ‡ | Return on capital employed is defined as adjusted operating profit divided by the sum of average opening and closing net assets, net debt/(funds), pension (surplus)/deficit and deferred tax. |
| ± | Cranswick has committed to switching to a full mass balance soya purchasing system. This covers 50% of the soya used by the business. The remaining 50% of the soya is purchased from deforestation-free sources in North America. |
Presentation
A conference call for analysts and institutional investors will take place at 9.30 am today. Slides to accompany the call will be sent to registered participants ahead of the call. Slides will also be available on the company website. For the dial-in details please contact Powerscourt on the details below.
Enquiries:
Cranswick plc
Mark Bottomley, Chief Financial Officer 01482 275 000
Powerscourt
Nick Dibden / Elizabeth Kittle 020 7250 1446
cranswick@powerscourt-group.com