Food-to-go growth boosts Greencore
However, the convenience food manufacturer, has also issued a note of warning about the current trading environment. It said it remains cautious about the potential impact of the recessionary environment and cost-of-living factors on consumer spending through the year ahead.
In its results for the 53 weeks ended 30 September 2022 it showed that strong growth in food to go and other convenience categories drove group revenue growth of 31.3% above FY21 levels to £1.7bn and 20.3% above FY19 levels. It was the first full-year results since the appointment of Dalton Philips as chief executive and executive director to replace Patrick Coveney.
Growth
Pro Forma Revenue growth in food to go categories increased by 35.2% year on year, driven by a combination of strong underlying volume growth, contribution from new wins, and increased pricing due to inflation.
The company said that revenue performance in the early weeks of FY23 has broadly held up however, it has seen some mixed effect between categories.
It said: “We expect that FY23 will be a year of further substantial inflation and are working closely with our customers on recovery and mitigation. We remain focused on the execution of our change programme, Better Greencore, and are planning for the second phase which will focus on operational and technological excellence.”
Great progress
Greencore said it would continue to make decisions on customer contracts which are no longer economic.
Dalton Philips, chief executive officer (CEO), said: “Greencore has made great progress in recovering from a very challenging period with revenue, profits, leverage and returns all improving significantly in FY22. I want to acknowledge and thank our teams and colleagues who have done and continue to do a fantastic job every day in driving the business forward.
“My first few weeks in the CEO role have confirmed to me the fantastic capability and potential of this business. Our leading market positions, close customer relationships, well invested facilities and intense focus on efficiencies give us confidence as we continue to navigate our way through the challenges of the current macroeconomic climate.”
