23 November 2021
Cranswick plc (“Cranswick” or “the Company” or “the Group”), a leading UK food producer, today announces its unaudited results for the 26 weeks ended 25 September 2021.
Commercial and strategic progress:
- Strong like-for-like † revenue growth of 6.4% driving an 11.5% increase in adjusted EPS
- Significant uplift in Poultry sales following the successful capacity expansion at Eye
- Expansion of Convenience category following two complementary bolt-on acquisitions, further strengthening our non-meat range
- New £31m Breaded Poultry facility on track for completion in early FY23
- Total capital expenditure of £41m across the Group's asset base to support strong growth pipeline
- Unprecedented industry wide labour and supply chain challenges being well managed with excellent customer service levels maintained
- Cost inflation being proactively managed and recovered
Sustainability highlights:
- All 14 eligible¥ manufacturing sites now certified carbon neutral
- Science Based Targets (SBTi) aligned with efforts to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees under the Paris Agreement now validated, with a commitment to halve Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 2030 and achieve Net Zero status by 2040
- Sustainability linked refinancing of the Group's bank facility successfully completed post period end
- Commitment to purchasing 100% certified deforestation-free soya±
Financial highlights * :
|
|
2021
|
2020
|
Change (Reported) |
Change (Like-for-like † ) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Revenue |
£993.1m |
£931.6m |
+6.6% |
+6.4% |
|
Adjusted Group operating profit |
£69.6m |
£62.0m |
+12.3% |
|
|
Adjusted Group operating margin |
7.0% |
6.7% |
+35bps |
|
|
Adjusted profit before tax |
£68.3m |
£60.7m |
+12.5% |
|
|
Adjusted earnings per share |
103.5p |
92.8p |
+11.5% |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
- Statutory profit before tax 17.7% higher at £63.2m (2020: £53.7m)
- Statutory earnings per share up 16.8% to 95.7p (2020: 81.9p)
- Interim dividend increased by 7.0% to 20.0p (2020: 18.7p)
- Return on capital employed‡ 127bps higher at 17.8% (2020: 16.6%)
- Net debt (excluding IFRS 16 lease liabilities) of £18.6m (2020: £54.6m and March 2021: £20.8m)
- Robust balance sheet with £250m of bank facilities providing generous headroom following refinancing
Adam Couch, Cranswick's Chief Executive Officer commented:
“We have made further positive and sustainable progress during the first half of the year, delivering revenue and earnings growth in an incredibly challenging operating environment.
“We continue to invest in the long-term sustainability of our business. We have made excellent headway in delivering our Second Nature sustainability strategy with several major milestones reached during the period. These include achieving carbon neutral status across all 14 of our eligible manufacturing facilities and committing to purchasing 100% deforestation-free soya which we expect will result in a c.20% reduction in carbon compared to the previous system.
“We also continue to invest heavily in our people, in our product range and in capacity and capability across our asset base. Our new £31m Breaded Poultry facility is on track for completion in early FY23; when completed, this will be our fourth new-build production facility commission in the last five years with a combined total investment of over £180m.
“I would like to thank our customers, suppliers and all my colleagues for their ongoing support, understanding and resilience during this very demanding period.
“Our outlook for the current year is unchanged and we have a solid platform from which to continue Cranswick's successful long-term development. “