The manufacturer achieved a net revenue growth of 1.1% – from £474.2m to £479.4m – due to the challenges of COVID-19, with a significant part of its out-of-home market shut down due to lockdowns.
These difficulties were offset by a strong performance with its grocery partners, in larger stores, online and convenience. KP made further savings by significantly cutting down on its marketing activities, channeling that money into methods of shielding its employees from the effect of the pandemic.
COVID-19 risks
“The company continues to recognise the risks posed by the ongoing CVOVID-19 pandemic,” read a statement from the board of directors. “The contingency measures and mitigating actions implemented in early 2020 have continued to address these risks.
“The crisis management team, appointed by the company, continues to take appropriate actions and adapt the coordinated business response based on government advice.”
Operating profit for the year was up 36.7%, from £34m to £46.5m
The snack manufacturer also highlighted its work to reduce its environmental impact, with a focus on its packaging through its three-step plan, Pack Promise.
Phase one of the plans has seen KP Snacks use less packaging, which included reducing the amount of plastic film used to make snack packs and cutting down on its use of cardboard for distribution packaging.
Terracycle partnership
The next step in the programme involved the manufacturer’s partnership with TerraCycle, which saw 500 public drop off locations set up around the UK for consumers to drop off KP Snacks packs from recycling.
Finally, phase three saw KP Snacks working on new materials and working with the UK Plastics pact to ensure all its plastic film packaging will be fully reusable, recyclable and compostable by 2025.
“We are working towards increasing the shelf life of some of our products so that less gets wasted due to its age and using data better to prevent waste stock,” the statement continued.
“One hundred percent of our surplus food goes to animal feed where its calorific content adds value back into the food chain, or is re-processed for other uses.”
Meanwhile, Moy Park's annual results showed a drop in sales, but a rise in operating profit, while Samworth Brothers' annual results indicate an £8m operating loss as food-to-go sales were hit in 2020, featured in our recent round-up.
