CRANSWICK plc: PRELIMINARY RESULTS
Record investment and strong returns
20 May 2025
Cranswick plc (“Cranswick” or “the Company” or “the Group”), a leading UK food producer, today announces its audited preliminary results for the 52 weeks ended 29 March 2025.
| Financial highlights1: | 2025 52 weeks | 2024 53 weeks | Change (Reported) | Change (52 weeks3) |
| Revenue | £2,723.3m | £2,599.3m | +4.8% | +6.8% |
| Revenue (like-for-like2) | +4.4% | +6.4% | ||
| Adjusted Group operating profit | £206.9m | £185.1m | +11.8% | +14.0% |
| Adjusted Group operating margin | 7.6% | 7.1% | +48bps | +48bps |
| Adjusted profit before tax | £197.9m | £176.6m | +12.1% | +14.3% |
| Adjusted earnings per share | 273.4p | 242.8p | +12.6% | +15.6% |
| Return on capital employed4 | 18.5% | 18.5% | +7bps | |
| Net debt (excluding IFRS 16) | £39.7m | £0.1m | £(39.6)m | |
| Dividend per share | 101.0p | 90.0p | +12.2% | |
| Statutory measures: | 2025 | 2024 | Change | |
| Group operating profit | £190.6m | £166.9m | +14.2% | |
| Profit before tax | £181.6m | £158.4m | +14.6% | |
| Earnings per share | 250.5p | 210.4p | +19.1% |
Financial highlights (on a comparable 52 week basis3):
- Strong revenue growth of 6.8% with like-for-like2 revenue 6.4% ahead
- Volume growth of 7.7% driven by premium product range growth and record Christmas trading period
- Fresh Pork export revenue 10.2% ahead following Norfolk site China licence reinstatement
- Pet Products revenue increased 47.8% as onboarding of Pets at Home business continues
- Poultry revenue up by 20.3% driven by new Cooked and Prepared Poultry retail listings
- 48bps increase in adjusted operating margin to 7.6%, reflecting a strong contribution from growing agricultural operations, excellent capacity utilisation and tight cost control
- Free cash conversion1 of 101.6% with ROCE4 of 18.5%
Strategic highlights:
- Long-term supply agreements with strategic retail partners secured and expanded, including 10 years sole supply of British fresh pork, sausage, premium bacon and cooked meats with Sainsbury’s
- £24m acquisition of JSR Genetics completed, a leading UK based pig genetics producer
- £32m acquisition of Blakemans, a leading food service sausage manufacturer, completed on 16 May 2025
- Investment in pig farming operations continues at pace, driving a 14% year-on-year increase in pig production
- Now almost 1m pigs on the ground at any time, 19% up on March 2024
- Investment in farming operations to secure supply and drive productivity improvements
- Record capital spend of £138m with significant progress on pipeline of earnings enhancing major capital projects
- £29m expansion of the two added-value Hull poultry sites commissioned and nearing completion
- £25m Worsley houmous and dips facility fit out progressing well with the initial phase commissioned
- £22m investment in incubatory capacity at the Kenninghall site and Eye throughput expansion underway
- £62m multi-phased expansion project at the Hull pork primary processing site progressing as planned
- £35m now committed to increase Hull pork primary processing site capacity from 35k to 50k pigs per week.
Adam Couch, Cranswick’s Chief Executive Officer, commented:
“This year we have made significant strategic and financial progress delivering record revenue and adjusted profit before tax. We have also continued to make substantial investment across our industry leading asset base, our farming operations and in acquisitions to support our long-term growth ambitions.
“We are accelerating the pace at which we invest to drive strong returns. This year we spent a record £138 million across our business to add capacity, expand capability and drive further efficiencies through automation and scale.
“I am delighted to announce the acquisition of Blakemans, a well‐invested, leading food service sausage manufacturer. Blakemans is highly complementary to our existing added-value Gourmet business. We look forward to welcoming the entire Blakemans team to Cranswick and to working with them to develop the business further.
“I would like to thank everyone at Cranswick for their unwavering dedication and support. Our continued successful performance in challenging market conditions reflects the talent, capability and determination of our colleagues across the business. The culture we have fostered, centred around a clear ambition to deliver strong sustainable growth, will continue to be the key driver of our success over the long-term.
“We have made a positive start to the new financial year with the UK consumer continuing to recognise the quality, value and versatility of our pork and poultry product ranges. Looking further ahead, I am confident that the strengths of the business which include its long-standing customer base, breadth and quality of products, robust financial position and industry leading asset infrastructure will support the successful development of Cranswick in the current financial year and over the longer-term.”
- Adjusted and like-for-like references throughout this statement refer to non-IFRS measures or Alternative Performance Measures (‘APMs’).
- Like-for-like revenue references excludes the current year contribution from current and prior year acquisitions prior to the anniversary of their purchase.
- 2024 was a 53 week accounting period. Comparable 52 week references exclude the impact of the 53rd week in the prior year comparatives.
- Return on capital employed is defined as adjusted operating profit divided by the sum of average opening and closing net assets, net debt/(funds), pension (surplus)/deficit and deferred tax.