Meadow Foods posts profits of nearly £25m

During that period, Meadow reported a pre-tax profit of £24.6m, up from £20.7m in FY22, which represents a 18.8% increase.

This translates to a total profit for the 2023 financial year of £21.1m.

Meanwhile, the firm reported a turnover of £588.6m for the same period, a 24% rise compared with the previous year.

Meadow, which produces ingredients for the dairy, confectionery and plant-based sectors, attributed the increase in turnover to dairy price inflation, but noted that the underlying business remains strong which has allowed it to approach pre-Covid levels of profitability.

Alongside its results, the company also announced that it remains on track to achieve net zero operational sites by 2030 and to be fully net zero by 2050.

'Great results amid difficult trading conditions'

Employing more than 500 people across five BRC accredited sites in Chester, Peterborough, Holme-on-Spalding Moor, Dolgellau and Headcorn, Meadow processes more than 550m litres of milk each year in the manufacture of value-added dairy ingredients.

Commenting on the firm’s financial results for FY2023, Meadow chief executive Raj Tugnait said that the increased profits had been achieved despite the “very challenging environment of high inflation”.​

“These results enable us to continue to invest in new facilities and product development so we can continue to meet the needs of leading food manufacturers,” ​Tugnait added.

Although outside the window of these latest results, Meadow had a busy final few months of 2023.

First, the firm acquired fruit and confectionery sauces manufacturer Naked Foods in August for an undisclosed fee​​, a move which Tugnait said would allow it to enter the sweet sauce category.

Then, later in August, it was announced that Canadian business Fairfax Financial had purchased a “significant equity stake​” in Meadow from private equity firm Exponent.​​

Exponent, alongside the founding Chantler family, purchased a stake in Meadow in 2018, and both retain a smaller share in the business following the sale.

In other news, plant-based food manufacturer THIS has announced the appointment of former Ella’s Kitchen boss Mark Cuddigan as its new CEO.​​