The growth in profits followed a year of success for the manufacturer, including the completion of the first phase of a planned £80m investment into the production facilities at its site in Long Sutton, Lincolnshire – a dedicated pea processing plant (pictured).
A reduction in the cost of sales reflected the lower revenue for the year, while a strategic review of the operational performance of the group’s manufacturing sites resulted in an impairment charge of £8.3m.
Profit growth as revenue falls
Princes’ pre-tax profit increased from £17.2m to £26.2m, despite lower revenue for the year – down 6% to £1.5bn – which the manufacturer attributed to a strategic reduction of volume in two areas of the business. Profit after tax came to £8.55m, up 8.9% from £7.84m.
A spokesman for the company said: “[The results] follow the significant business transformation programme initiated by the business at the end of 2017 to drive continuous growth and respond to challenging market conditions. We are seeing the outcomes of this programme coming to fruition rapidly.
“We will continue to make progress in achieving our vision of proudly helping families to eat well without costing the earth and delivering sustainable profit growth.”
£5m rebrand
Other developments at the company included the launch of a £5m rebrand across the Princes portfolio and business, an increase in the amount of recycled plastic used by the manufacturer and its partnership with Italian agricultural organisation Coldiretti to improve its tomato supply chain.
Meanwhile, Scottish beef producer JW Galloway reaped the rewards from its new plant and equipment investment despite Brexit-induced challenges over the past year, as the firm demonstrated growth in its recent results.
