Pre-Close Trading Statement

RNS Number : 9420L

Finsbury Food Group PLC

15 January 2016

 

Date:	15 January 2016
On behalf of:	Finsbury Food Group Plc ('Finsbury', 'the Company' or 'the Group')
Embargoed until:	0700hrs

Finsbury Food Group Plc

Pre-Close Trading Statement

Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF), a leading UK speciality bakery manufacturer of cake, bread and morning goods for both the retail and foodservice channels, is today providing an update on trading for the first half of the current financial year, ended 26 December 2015, prior to entering its close period.

The Board is pleased to report that since the positive AGM trading update in November 2015, strong trading performance has continued throughout the Christmas period. Total Company sales revenues grew to £156.6m, an increase of 46% on prior year. This includes like for like* growth of 7.4% over the first half of the prior year. The UK Bakery division grew by 6.1% on a like for like basis and the Overseas division, the Group's 50% owned European business, grew by 18.8%.

The prior year acquisitions of Fletchers in October 2014 and Johnstone's in June 2015 are now fully integrated and performing strongly.

Consumer markets remain challenging and organic growth has been hard won, requiring significant promotional investment, NPD and fresh layers of infrastructure.

The Group continues to invest in the business through both capital expenditure and investment in its people, to ensure that it is well equipped to deliver growth and improved shareholder value over the coming years. 

John Duffy, Chief Executive of Finsbury Food Group Plc, commented:

"Performance in the period has been strong, for both the Group as a whole and also, importantly, on a like for like basis.  We continue to operate in an environment with external pressures, however through the Group's leading position in the market, its diversified product and customer base, and its ongoing investment in the business, we are confident that we can continue to drive growth and deliver value for our shareholders."

* Like for like growth is calculated using financial data only where there are comparative trading figures for the first half of the prior year.

For further information:

Finsbury Food Group Plc	www.finsburyfoods.co.uk
John Duffy (Chief Executive)	029 20 357 500
Stephen Boyd (Finance Director)
Cenkos Securities plc
Bobbie Hilliam (Corporate Finance)
Oliver Baxendale (Sales)
Redleaf Communications	[e-mail]
Rebecca Sanders-Hewett      Sarah Fabietti	020 7382 4730
Harriet Lynch

Publication quality photographs are available via Redleaf Communications on the numbers shown above

Notes to Editors:

·    Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF) is a leading UK manufacturer of cake and bread bakery goods, supplying a broad range of blue chip customers within both the grocery retail and 'out of home eating' foodservice sectors including major multiples and leading foodservice providers.

·    Following the acquisition of the Fletchers Group of bakeries, the Company is one of the largest speciality bakery groups in the UK with annualised sales in 2015 approaching £300 million.

·     The Company's bakery product range is comprehensive and includes:

-      Large premium and celebration cakes.

-      Small snacking cake formats such as cake slices and bites.

-      Artisan, healthy lifestyle and organic breads through to rolls, muffins (sweet and savoury) and morning pastries, all of which are available both fresh and frozen dependent on customer channel requirements.

·    The Company is a leading manufacturer and supplier of ambient packaged cake (excluding In Store Bakery) and bread and morning goods in the UK within the grocery retail and the UK foodservice bakery sectors. The ambient cake market (excluding In Store Bakery) is valued at £948 million (Source Symphony IRI 52 w/e 5 December 2015). The annual bread and morning goods market has a value in excess of £4.1 billion (source Kantar Worldpanel). The UK foodservice bakery sector is worth approximately £800 million per annum and the UK foodservice cake and sweet treats market is worth approximately £500 million per annum.

·    The Company comprises a UK Bakery division and an Overseas division:

-      UK Bakery has manufacturing sites in Cardiff, Hamilton, East Kilbride, Salisbury, Sheffield, London and Manchester.

-      Overseas division comprises the Company's 50% owned subsidiary, Lightbody Stretz Ltd, which supplies and distributes the Group's UK manufactured products and third party products, primarily to Europe.

 

END

 

 

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