Karro Food Group, the UK meat processor, has signalled its interest in acquisitions as it reported a continued improvement in profitability.
Di Walker, Karro's executive chair, said the company had an "appetite for acquisitions" and would look to develop its business on an organic basis, in part through expanding its international reach.
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The pork supplier, owned by private-equity firm Endless, today (10 September) posted EBITDA of GBP8m for 2014, compared to an EBITDA loss of GBP3m in 2013.
Karro's pre-tax net profit reached GBP2.4m. The company had not provided a comparative figure for 2013 at the time of writing.
The increase in EBITDA came despite a dip in sales. Turnover stood at GBP528m, down 0.9% on 2013.
Karro was formed through a management buy-out of Vion's former UK pork assets in 2013. Executive chair Di Walker said the results showed the company was exceeding ambitions drawn up at the time of the deal.
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By GlobalData"Following its acquisition from Vion, Karro Food Group implemented a five-year plan to transform the underlying performance of our business through operational improvements that could deliver value to both Karro and its customers," Walker said. "It is therefore extremely pleasing to announce that Karro Food Group will have achieved the targets set out in that plan – namely to ensure Karro is fit for the future and firmly focused on growth – within just three years.
"Our firm focus moving forward is to continue this positive trajectory. We have an appetite to make acquisitions and this strategy will be supported by our recently announced GBP74m funding package. We also continue to be focused on organic growth and will further develop our retail and trade partnerships, as well as expand our international customer network in markets including Australia, China, Japan, Korea and the United States."
In May, Karro said it had secured finance from GE Capital and RBS Invoice Finance to support expansion at home and abroad.
