IRELAND: Greencore reports drop in FY profits
By Dean Best | 6 December 2011
Irish food group Greencore today (6 December) reported a drop in annual profits as costs linked to its aborted merger with Northern Foods hit the company's bottom line.
Greencore booked net profit from continuing operations of GBP19.9m (US$31.1m) for the year to 30 September, a fall of 7.8%.
The company's annual net profit included GBP11.7m in costs linked in part to charges from its failed attempt to merge with UK rival Northern. Greencore saw its plans derailed by UK poultry supplier Boparan Holdings, which acquired Northern in April.
The costs also included restructuring charges and a legal settlement, Greencore noted.
However, Greencore's underlying profits fared better and the results boosted its stock, a day after its shares tumbled following its admission that talks to sell the business had failed.
Greencore's shares fell 11% yesterday after it said takeover talks with a mystery suitor had ended. Today, Greencore's shares were up 3.61% at EUR0.66 on the Irish Stock Exchange.
Excluding the costs, Greencore's net profit jumped 47.6% to GBP31.5m. However, the company's operating profit dipped from GBP51.6m to GBP51.5m as its cost of sales increased. Operating margin from its core convenience foods dropped 20 basis points to 6.7%.
Revenue was up 8.7% to GBP804.2m. Like-for-like sales, which excluded an extra selling week in the year and the impact of Greencore's acquisition of US firm On The Roll, increased 4.3%.
CEO Patrick Coveney said the year had seen the "transformation" of Greencore into a "focused and growing convenience food business".
Coveney said Greencore was "delighted" with the way the company's two acquisitons - On The Roll and UK desserts and sandwich maker Uniq - had been integrated into the group.
He added: "Whilst the UK and US food markets remain challenging, we are confident of being able to drive further growth and shareholder value through our close customer relationships, strong operational performance and outstanding products."
Sectors: Bakery, Chilled foods, Condiments, dressings & sauces, Frozen, Private label
Companies: Greencore, Northern Foods, Boparan Holdings, Uniq
View next/previous articles
6 Dec 2011 -
Currently reading -
IRELAND: Greencore reports drop in FY profits
Related research
Datamonitor's Northern Foods plc - SWOT Analysis company profile is the essential source for top-level company data and information. Northern Foods plc - SWOT Analysis examines the company’s key business structure and operations, history and products...
Global market review of premium in-home dining – forecasts to 2014
The global premium in-home dining market is largest and most well-established in regions such as Western Europe and North America, where penetration of levels of convenience foods such as ready meals are highest. This latest report from just-food pro...
Chilled Food Market in the Netherlands to 2014
This databook provides key data and information on the chilled food market in the Netherlands. This report is a comprehensive resource for market, category and segment level data including value, volume, distribution share and company & brand share. ...
Related articles
IRELAND: Uniq takeover boosts Greencore H1 profits
Ireland-based food maker Greencore has booked an increase in first-half profits, boosted by the company's acquisition of UK firm Uniq last year.
Quote, unquote: just-food's week in words
A raft of first-quarter results stories this week from the likes of Danone and Nestle, and full-year results from Tesco have kept analysts busy.
There are currently no comments on this article
Be the first to comment on this article