Irish convenience food group Greencore delivered a 25% increase in pro-forma revenue during the final quarter of its financial year, bouncing back from the effects of the pandemic which impacted sales of food-to-go products.
The group noted that its performance in the fourth quarter was driven by a combination of increased volumes, a low-teen percentage increase in underlying pricing, new business wins, and improved revenue in its Irish ingredients trading business.
Its core food-to-go categories saw a 23% rise in revenue, although growth was slower than the previous quarter due to a stronger comparative period and the volume impact of rail strikes and the unexpected bank holiday for the Queen’s funeral. Other convenience food categories made a 29% gain.
For the full year to 30 September, Greencore’s group revenue rose by 29%, with food-to-go up 35% and other categories increasing by 19%. It described the full-year performance as “satisfactory”, citing further earnings progression and deleveraging across its business.
However, the group used the trading update to warn that adjusted operating profit would come in at the “lower end” of its £72m to £75m forecast due to the rail strikes and the extra bank holiday.
Looking ahead, Greencore said consumer demand had held up well so far. However, it stated that it remains “watchful and cautious” about the potential impact of cost-of-living factors through the year ahead.
“We remain focused on the recovery of inflation through all mechanisms available and are working with our customers and supply partners to mitigate the ongoing impact of the persistently high inflation across the industry on consumer prices,” it said.
“We have substantially recovered the inflation that we have experienced over the last 12 months, and we are making decisions whether to bid for or renew contracts based on their economics, including the ability to recover inflation.”
The results are the group’s first to be published under the tenure of new Chief Executive Dalton Philips, who joined the business from airports and travel retail group daa in September. He was previously the CEO of Morrisons between 2010 and 2015.
