Finsbury Foods earnings climb despite downturn
FINSBURY Foods, the UK’s second largest supermarket cake supplier, said yesterday it saw an increase in profits despite the economic downturn.
The group, which makes cakes for Weightwatchers, Thorntons and Disney, said its underlying profits rose by 8.3 per cent to £5m for the year to 2 July, after sales rose by 12.6 per cent to £189.6m. Thorntons-branded sales jumped by 17 per cent and Weightwatchers products gained market share.
Finsbury said it was focused on making its products more affordable despite facing the rising cost of ingredients such as butter, sugar and wheat, where it expects high prices to persist or even increase in the future.
The firm’s shares rose more than five per cent in trading on London’s Alternative Investment Market yesterday to close at 25.75p.