Greencore revels in rising revenues powered by food-to-go services and acquisitions
Convenience food manufacturer Greencore Group (Greencore) has revealed a 33.6 per cent boost in revenues, powered by strong growth in food-to-go services.
Overall revenues rose to £770.8m in the six months of trading up to the end of March, but increased 48 per cent year on year in food-to-go categories.
This is approximately eight per cent above equivalent pre-COVID levels in H1 19
It has reported an adjusted operating profit of £17.2m, at a margin of 2.2 per cent.
The company has delivered an adjusted earnings per share of 1.8p, compared to an adjusted loss of 1.4p this time last year.
Net debt has dropped by over £50m to £219.3m excluding lease liabilities, with 12-month free cashflow conversion of 71 per cent.
Alongside the headline results, Greencore has announced plans to recommence value return of up to £50m over the next two years, initially in the form of a share buyback programme and consistent with the group’s capital management policy
It has also continued to onboard new businesses, expanding its product ranges and channel reach, with revenue from these wins representing just over one-third of the group’s pro forma revenue growth in the six-month period.
Better Greencore, the Group’s profit improvement programme, was also launched in the first half of the year.
Its first phase is targeted to deliver annual recurring benefits of approximately £30m in FY24
Earlier this month, the company announced the appointment of Dalton Philips as chief executive and executive director.
He will join the group and the board in September.
Commenting on the results, executive chair Gary Kennedy said: “We are very pleased to have delivered H1 revenues that are back above pre-Covid levels, which is a great achievement against a backdrop of mobility restrictions, supply challenges and emerging inflation. There has been encouraging momentum in revenue and profit conversion in the first seven weeks of the second half of the year, and we are confident in our ability to navigate our way through the current well-publicised macro challenges as we enter our peak seasonal trading period.”