AGM Statement

RNS Number : 7099H

Real Good Food Company Plc (The)

02 June 2011

 



The Real Good Food Company plc (AIM: RGD) 

AGM Statement

The Real Good Food Company plc ("the Group"), owns the largest independent non-refining distributor of sugar in Europe (Napier Brown) and is a supplier of dairy ingredients ("Garrett"), bakery ingredients (Renshaw) and a manufacturer of sweet bakery products (Haydens) for a range of major retail customers.

At today's Annual General Meeting, Pieter Totté, Chairman, will make the following comments:

"In my statement accompanying our preliminary results announcement, I said that the progress made during 2010 across all four of the Group's businesses left us well placed to achieve further improvements in sales and profitability. I am therefore very pleased to be able to report on a strong start to the current financial year throughout all our businesses.

"At Napier Brown, we have seen sugar prices reaching record levels, due to global shortages which followed the ending of the EU Sugar Regime last October. The business has been working hard to secure new sources of supply and, having successfully dealt with the volatile supply situation that has prevailed over the past few months, I am pleased to say that profitability has almost returned to pre-Regime levels.

"Later this year our retail sugar division will be launching a range of speciality sugars under the Whitworth brand. These will be sold through a wide range of retail outlets in the UK and we are confident that they will dramatically enhance the Whitworth brand.    

"The Garrett business, formerly part of Napier Brown, continues to develop well as a stand-alone entity. Its new management team, which was appointed last year, has improved Garrett's sourcing capability and widened its product range. The operating margin in year to date is up around 50% on the previous year, well ahead of our budget.    

"Renshaw was the Group's star performer last year, driven by strong demand from the home baking sector and rapid growth in export sales, particularly to the US. A key area of focus for us this year is on the UK-wide launch over the next few weeks of a new range of 47 products under the Renshaw brand. We will also be driving the development of overseas sales through the appointment of an Export Manager.

"Haydens continues to progress with the recovery plan instigated last year. The Management team is fully established and the strategic direction clear. Sales continue to perform ahead of last year and there is strong demand for the innovation skills within the business. This was further highlighted by the outstanding success of the Royal Trifle produced for Waitrose from a Heston Blumenthal recipe.

"The distribution operation has been successfully relocated to a purpose-built facility close to the bakery. There was no disruption to the business and the site was fully operational within 24 hours of the move. This has added significant picking capacity, while space freed up by this move (10,000 sq ft) has allowed management to embark on very exciting modernisation plans for the bakery.

"Based on our trading performance during the first five months of the current financial period, and my confidence that we can sustain this progress through our international sourcing skills in the sugar market, the forthcoming brand launches, and the benefits of plant reorganisation work at Haydens, I believe that the Group is on course to significantly exceed current market forecasts for the year."

2 June 2011

ENQUIRIES:

The Real Good Food Company plc	Tel: [phone]
Pieter Totté, Chairman
Mike McDonough, Group Finance Director
Shore Capital	Tel: [phone]
Stephane Auton
College Hill	Tel: [phone]
Gareth David

 

END

 

 

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