UK food group Cranswick is looking to build on a year of rising profits with plans to up capacity at a chicken factory.
The publicly listed business today (19 May) booked a 9.5% rise in annual revenues, which contributed to a near 18% increase in profits.
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Cranswick said it wants to expand the capacity of its fresh-poultry processing site in Eye in eastern England.
The company is in the middle of a £13m ($17.4m) project at the site, which opened in 2019, to up capacity to 1.6 million birds a week, an increase of 15%.
It plans to spend £56m on installing a second line at the factory. Cranswick said the move would grow the site’s processing capacity to two million birds a week.
The company expects to complete the project during its 2028 financial year. It will “provide further headroom to support the continued growth of our fresh and added-value poultry business”, Cranswick said.
In the year to 28 March, the company generated revenue of £2.98bn. Like-for-like revenue grew 6.8%. Cranswick said its UK food sales rose 9.4% on the back of an 8.3% gain in volumes.
Revenue from poultry grew 13.9%, helped by “strong growth across cooked, prepared and fresh categories”, Cranswick said. Poultry now represents more than a fifth of the company’s revenue.
Group operating profit increased 22.1% to £232.8m. Profit for the year climbed 17.9% to £158.3m.
“Cranswick has delivered another year of strong strategic and financial progress, reflecting our proven business model and the disciplined execution of our long-term priorities,” CEO Adam Couch said.
Shares in Cranswick were up 6.17% at 5,542p at 13:12 BST and have risen more than 12% so far this year.
Couch added: “The range of growth opportunities available to the group continues to expand and we remain well positioned to deliver on our strategy.
“Trading in the early part of the current financial year has been in line with the board’s expectations. At the same time, the conflict in the Middle East remains an evolving situation and we continue to monitor potential implications for our supply chains. We remain mindful of the potential for disruption arising from prevailing economic and geopolitical conditions.”
