Pre-Close Trading Statement and Notice of Results

RNS Number : 1630N

Finsbury Food Group PLC

19 January 2023

 

Date:	19 January 2023
On behalf of:	Finsbury Food Group Plc ("Finsbury", "the Group" or "the Company")

Finsbury Food Group Plc

Pre-Close Trading Statement and Notice of Results

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, announces an update on trading for the six months ended 31 December 2022.

Finsbury delivered an encouraging H1 performance despite the ongoing macro-economic and cost inflation challenges. Total sales for the period grew by 14.7% to £190.9m, driven by price recovery initiatives on consistent period volumes.

The Group saw a stable performance in UK retail (+10.9%), an ongoing recovery in foodservice (+22.0%) and continued strong performance in the Group's overseas division (+23.4%).

As referenced in the Group's November 2022 AGM Statement, food sector headwinds in the current financial year have exceeded those experienced during FY22. To have delivered a robust H1 performance in that context provides further validation of the Group's range of quality products, the viability of our operational strategy and the long-term prospects of our selected markets.

While it is difficult to predict exactly how macro challenges will develop in H2, the Group's approach to responding to them will remain unchanged, with a consistent focus on commercial terms, operational improvements and other supply chain and overhead initiatives.

The Board is encouraged by the continuation of our sales momentum and the progress made against the Group's three strategic pillars of Excellence, Growth and Responsibility in H1. While a level of uncertainty is likely to persist through H2, the Board believes that steady ongoing demand and the Group's market position, diverse product range (including the fully commissioned new buns and rolls capacity) and track record of successfully navigating challenges as they arise stand the Company in good stead for the rest of the year.

The Group remains on track to meet market expectations for FY23.

Notice of results

The Group will announce its Interim Results for the six months ended 31 December 2022 on Tuesday 21 February 2023.

Finsbury will host a webinar for analysts at 09:00 on Tuesday 21 February. Analysts wishing to attend the webinar should contact Alma PR via [e-mail] .

The Group will also host a presentation for retail investors on the Investor Meet Company platform at 16:30 on Wednesday 22 February. Shareholders who already follow Finsbury Food Group on the platform will automatically be invited, others are invited to register in advance via the following link: https://www.investormeetcompany.com/finsbury-food-group-plc/register-investor

Contact:

Finsbury Food Group   John Duffy (Chief Executive) Steve Boyd (Finance Director)	www.finsburyfoods.co.uk	029 20 357 500
Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited Oliver Cardigan (Corporate Finance) Atholl Tweedie Rupert Dearden (Corporate Broking)		020 7886 2500
Alma PR   Sam Modlin David Ison Matthew Young	[e-mail]	020 3405 0205

Notes to Editors:

· Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF) is a leading UK and European 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.

· The Company is one of the largest speciality bakery groups in the UK and, together with its overseas division, has sales in the financial year ending 2 July 2022 of £357 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; and

· Gluten Free bread, morning goods and cake ranges.

· The Company is one of the largest ambient cake manufacturers in the UK, a market valued at £1.06 billion (source: IRI 52 w/e 31 Dec 2022). The retail bread and morning goods market has a value of £5.7 billion (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 25 Dec 2022). The retail Free From cake market is valued at £60 million (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 25 Dec 2022). The retail Free From bread and morning goods market is valued at £173 million (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 25 Dec 2022).

· The Company comprises a core UK bakery division and an overseas division:

· The UK bakery division has manufacturing sites in Cardiff, East Kilbride, Hamilton, Salisbury, Sheffield, Manchester, and Pontypool.

· The overseas division comprises the Company's 85% owned company, Lightbody-Stretz Limited, which supplies and distributes the Group's UK-manufactured products and third-party products, primarily to Europe, and the Company's manufacturing facilities in Rybarzowice and Żywiec in Poland.

 

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