European chilled convenience food group Uniq posted a pre-tax loss for its first half as a result of rising commodity costs.
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The company closed the period to 30 June with a pre-tax loss of GBP4.2m (US$8.3m) compared with GBP3.7m in the year-ago period.
Total revenue rose to GBP394.5m from GBP360.3m in 2007.
Geoff Eaton, chief executive of Uniq, said: “It has been a tough first half of the year but we are taking action to ensure we are able to meet the challenges ahead and we remain confident of making significant further progress in unlocking the true potential of Uniq.”
The food group warned the tough and volatile economic conditions are continuing in the second half but said it is taking actions across its business in response and believes it can maintain the board’s expectations for 2008.
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By GlobalDataParticular areas identified for change include fish in Germany, where margins in the hard discount and private-label channels are “unsustainably low”, and fish and salads in the UK, where there is excess capacity and a number of suppliers are only marginally profitable or losing money.
The company said the structural changes it has put in place underpin its confidence that significant further progress will be made in 2009.
