Spain-based meats firm Campofrio said fewer trading days in this year’s first quarter compared to the first three months of 2012 hit sales.
Campofrio booked a 1.3% fall in net sales to EUR441.6m (US$573.5m) for the three months to the end of March. The lower sales hit profits, with normalised EBITDA down 24.2% at EUR25.7m and the company’s losses widening from EUR600,000 a year ago to EUR4.1m.
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“We have had a very difficult first quarter of 2013, which has certainly been more severe than expected. A very weak consumption environment with a first quarter having less days of sales in 1Q13 vs. 1Q12 has had a negative impact on sales volumes. Without the calendar impact of between three to five days depending on the countries, sales would have increased with a positive impact on margins,” CEO Robert Sharpe said.
Campofrio said its focus on three trends – health, heritage and snacking – had seen benefits in the first quarter. Sales of products across these three “platforms” increased 18%, it said.
“We expect a significant improvement in the second quarter, with our efficiency measures delivering further cost savings and the new product launches boosting sales and brand awareness. The group’s transformation strategy is on track and we are confident about its capacity to deliver further future margin improvements,” Sharpe added.
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