Burts Snacks fell into the red last year as its sale to Europe Snacks compounded further losses at the premium snacks brand.
Burts was bought by French own-label manufacturer Europe Snacks for an undisclosed sum in March last year, incurring costs of £2.4m on the Burts balance sheet.
Added to higher raw material costs, this led Burts to a £5.1m pre-tax loss in the year to January, its latest accounts showed.
The company’s sales continue to perform strongly, however, with revenue up 11% to £97m driven primarily by price rises. Volumes were also up 3%.
Burts said last year’s acquisition had not only expanded its market reach but presented it with avenues for growth and development, saying that through careful planning and execution it is “confident that we can realise the full potential of this acquisition and position our company for long-term success”.
When Europe Snacks announced the acquisition last year, it said Burts would also benefit from further investment in additional capacity.
Burts has doubled production capacity at its Leicester site in recent years, and said it will keep investing in capacity, cost reduction projects, and regulatory compliance through 2024.
Burts is now owned by One Rock Capital Partners after the New York-based private equity firm bought Europe Snacks in September, as revealed by The Grocer earlier in the year.
The deal also included Kolak Snack Foods, one of the main snacks suppliers for the discounters. Kolak published its own annual results this month, reporting an 8% rise in revenue to £251.6m. Operating profit was up 37% to £22.8m.
Kolak said its integration with Burts was “going well and has seen some synergy already in certain operations of the business”.
It added: “The combined manufacturing and supply chains will enable the UK group to invest further in additional capacity and service excellence.”
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