Shares in convenience food maker Greencore surged up 11% yesterday after it said that its sales were starting to recover have been decimated during the lockdown.
Group revenue for its third quarter to 26 June fell 34.1% to £240.6m after the outbreak had a “dramatic and volatile impact on UK food consumption patterns”.
Sales of its core food-to-go products such as sandwiches and salads plummeted 50.6% to £123.8m after the lockdown hit sales to foodservice customers, cafés, city centre convenience stores, and travel outlets.
However, Greencore said revenues have recovered “progressively” as restrictions on population movements in the UK and Ireland eased. Since its biggest decline of 63% year-on-year in April, the food-to-go category this month has recovered somewhat to be down 35% year-on-year.
Revenue in the group’s other convenience food categories edged up 1.8% to £116.8m.
Despite the dramatic fall in food-to-go sales, Greencore said it delivered positive underlying EBITDA for the quarter after implementing an “extensive range of mitigating actions”.
CEO Patrick Coveney said: “Our group has traded resiliently, with our deep customer relationships strengthened further, and we are encouraged to see a sustained improvement in demand and category mix.
“We remain confident in the relevance and attractiveness of the food to go channels and categories that we serve. In addition, we are well-positioned for new business opportunities and a return to growth as the pandemic subsides.”
Greencore also announced yesterday that it has agreed to sell its molasses business for £15.6m to United Molasses Marketing. The division is involved in importing and distributing animal feed across Ireland. Proceeds from the sale will be used to further strengthen the group’s balance sheet.
