UK meat group Cranswick has said CEO Bernard Hoggarth plans to stand down as CEO, after booking a 3% increase in full-year pre-tax profit on the back of a “record” second half.
The company said today (21 May) that pre-tax profit rose to GBP48.4m (US$76.6m), up from GBP47.1m last year. The figure included a one-off gain of GBP2.6m from the sale of a stake in Farmers Boy Deeside.
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Net profit was boosted by lower tax charges and rose to GBP37.5m, up from GBP35.3m in the previous year.
Cranswick has struggled with escalating input costs throughout the year to end-March, resulting in a 5% decline in operating profit to GBP46.7m. However, margins recovered in the second half, improving from 4.8% in the first half to 6.5% in the last six months of the year.
Underlying sales increased by 10% to GBP821m, while reported revenues were up 8% to GBP821m. The strongest growth was seen in sales of bacon, fresh pork and sausages, with sales in these categories increasing by 39%, 15% and 12%, respectively.
“Against a background of strong raw material price increases early in the financial year and a continued challenging environment for the consumer, the company recovered strongly during the second half and recorded its highest ever sales and second best trading profit in its history ,” chairman Martin Davey said.
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By GlobalDataCranswick chief operating officer, Adam Couch, will be appointed CEO when Hoggarth steps down at the company’s AGM on 1 August.
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