Pie maker Higgidy posts £2.1M sales growth
However, in its annual report and accounts, published August 22, the company warned of more challenging times ahead.
Sales grew to £24M from £21.9M in the previous year, boosted by a number of new listings in UK supermarkets. Higgidy pies are now available in Tesco, Sainsbury Asda and Morrisons stores nationwide.
Higgidy claimed it had overtaken rival pie firm Pukka to become the third largest savoury pastry brand in the UK.
Less positively, the company suffered an operating loss of £513,415, up from a loss of £132,990 last year. This was the result of a change to its accounting estimate for depreciation of plant and machinery, according to Higgidy.
‘Healthy operating profit’
Higgidy claimed it would have made a “healthy operating profit” if it had not changed its estimate.
The firm has also invested more than £1.1M in its factory in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, over the past year, including machinery and leasehold improvements to increase capacity and boost efficiency.
Commenting on the current financial period, md Mark Campbell warned that this year would be more challenging due to difficult market conditions.
“Our raw materials prices are already increasing across the key commodities – with the largest increases in dairy and meat – and this is set to continue putting pressure on our margins,” said Campbell.
‘This will affect our growth’
“Some of our major customers have also changed their approach in promotions in order to focus on their own-label and this will affect our growth.”
Brexit was unlikely to affect Higgidy’s sales, Campbell added, but it would put pressure on the company’s input prices and lead to future uncertainty in the market.
In May, Higgidy was one of 1,000 companies recognised in this year’s London Stock Exchange report of the most inspirational and fastest growing small and medium-sized enterprises in Britain.
Meanwhile, bakery ingredients manufacturer Real Good Food has cut its profit forecast to £1M for the year ending March 31 2017, half the value of what was expected earlier this month.
