Greencore reported a “satisfactory” start to the year today (29 January) as acquisitions in the US offset flat UK revenues.

In a trading statement released ahead of its AGM, Greencore said that sales of at its convenience food business totalled GBP285.8m for the 13 weeks to end-December, a 2.5% increase on the comparable period of last year.

In the UK, Greencore said that like-for-like sales, stripping out the acquisition of International Cuisine and the disposal of the Uniq chilled dessert business, remained flat. The company highlighted that this was achieved in the face of “difficult” trading conditions and against difficult comparables, as the group booked 11.8% growth last year.

Meanwhile, the sandwich and dessert supplier has worked to expand its US activities. Sales in the market doubled during the period, benefiting from an expanded geographic footprint following the Marketfare Foods and Schau acquisitions. Greencore is also working to expand its customer base in the US and revealed today that it has started supplying Starbucks in the greater Boston area.

Greencore’s ingredients and property division, which makes up about 6% of revenues, saw sales decline 11.6% in the period. Sales dropped to GBP13.1m at this division, the group indicated

Looking to the remainder of the year, Greencore said market conditions would continue to be challenging, particularly in the core UK market where volumes are under pressure. “We expect this to remain the case for the foreseeable future,” the company said.

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