CRANSWICK plc: PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Strong commercial growth and continued strategic progress
23 May 2023
Cranswick plc (“Cranswick” or “the Company” or “the Group”), a leading UK food producer, today announces its audited preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 25 March 2023.
Commercial and strategic progress:
· Strong revenue growth reflecting inflation recovery with operating margin improving from 6.1% to 6.5% in the second half of the year
· Broad-based inflationary pressure across the Group’s cost base continues to be well controlled
· Total capital expenditure of £85.1m across the Group’s asset base to add capacity, capability and drive efficiency
· New £32m Hull Prepared Poultry facility successfully commissioned at the start of the year with retail and food service customers now on board
· Installation of third contact cooking line at Hull Cooked Bacon facility to add capacity and capability
· £9m investment in Lincoln Pet Products site underway with significant new customer secured
· Further investment in the Group’s pig farming operations; self-sufficiency in British pigs now approaching 50%
Sustainability highlights:
· 7.2% reduction in Scope 1 & 2 location based carbon emissions across both manufacturing and agricultural operations
· Six further major solar panel installations at manufacturing sites underway, increasing green energy generation
· Progress on transitioning 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*:
| 2023 | 2022 | Change(Reported) | Change (Like-for-like†) | |
| Revenue | £2,323.0m | £2,008.5m | +15.7% | +14.4% |
| Adjusted Group operating profit | £146.5m | £140.6m | +4.2% | |
| Adjusted Group operating margin | 6.3% | 7.0% | -69bps | |
| Adjusted profit before tax | £140.1m | £136.9m | +2.3% | |
| Adjusted earnings per share | 210.0p | 205.4p | +2.2% | |
· Statutory profit before tax 7.4% higher at £139.5m (2022: £129.9m)
· Statutory earnings per share up 6.4% to 208.3p (2022: 195.7p)
· Full year dividend increased by 5.0% to 79.4p (2022: 75.6p); 33 years of unbroken dividend growth
· Return on capital employed‡ of 15.8% (2022: 16.9%)
· Net debt (excluding IFRS 16 lease liabilities) lower at £20.2m (2022: £36.2m)
· Robust balance sheet with £250m bank facility providing significant headroom
Adam Couch, Cranswick’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“Over the last twelve months all at Cranswick have demonstrated resilience and determination in abundance, enabling us to deliver a strong set of results and make further meaningful progress in delivering our strategic objectives.
“I would like to thank our colleagues for their continued enthusiasm and commitment. I would also like to thank our suppliers and customers, with whom we continue to work in close partnership, for their support and understanding.
“We have successfully navigated three years of unprecedented disruption and uncertainty and we now have a much larger, more diverse, and better equipped business, which is primed to deliver the next phase of growth.
“We invested £85.1 million across our asset base during the year. Our total investment in the last three years exceeds £250 million. Investment during the year has been broad-based as we look to expand capacity and enhance the capability of existing facilities.
“We are proposing to lift our full year dividend by a further five per cent this year. This will be our 33rd year of consecutive dividend growth.
“We have made a positive start to the new financial year. 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 10. |
| †| For comparative purposes, like-for-like revenues exclude the impact of current year acquisitions and the 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. |