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Cranswick is set up for a strong Christmas after the meat processor reported volume-led growth in the first half.
Revenues at the group increased 6.1% to £1.3bn in the 26 weeks ended 28 September, with like-for-like growth of 5.8%.
Sales from the core UK food business were ahead by 6.4%, underpinned by 7% volume growth.
Poultry revenues are up 16.4%, driven by strong growth in cooked and prepared poultry, with chicken now accounting for almost 20% of total group turnover.
Fresh pork revenue was 2.8% ahead of the same period a year ago as volume driven retail and wholesale demand was offset by lower export sales.
Pet food sales were also 71.1% higher as Cranswick thanks to the contract with Pets at Home.
Adjusted operating profits rose 16.5% to £99.6m, while pre-tax profits edged up 3.8% to £90.2m.
The results comes after Cranswick flagged stronger-than-expected first-half trading in a September update, with the group also raising profit forecasts for the year.
CEO Adam Couch said this morning that the group had “delivered another strong first half performance with good volume-led growth through capacity expansion and market share gains from close alignment to our key long-standing customers and a relentless focus on quality and industry-leading service levels”.
“We remain on track to deliver further progress in the second half of the year. Our Christmas order book is strong and demand for our innovative products remains high as the UK consumer continues to appreciate the quality, value and versatility of our core pork and poultry ranges.
“Our continued positive progress is made possible by our industry-leading asset infrastructure, the unrivalled capability of our colleagues across the business, the breadth and quality of our product range and robust financial position. Focusing on these strengths will allow Cranswick to continue to prosper, both in the current financial year and over the longer term.”
Shares in Cranswick opened down 1.4% to 5,000p.
Morning update
Vape manufacturer Supreme has grown revenues by 8% to £113m in the first half to 30 September as its core business grew and the acquired Clearly Drinks business bedded in.
Adjusted EBITDA was up 22% to £18.5m, riven by higher gross margins in all categories and a continued tight control on overheads.
Adjusted pre-tax profits were up 25% to £14.7m.
Supreme acquired Clearly Drinks earlier this year, with non-vape annualised revenues at the group now exceeding £100m.
The group said it had developed “a stable, highly profitable and growing core business”, was currently pursuing “a buoyant and diverse” M&A pipeline, had a healthy balance sheet and had more than £50m of unutilised borrowing facilities, providing the company with “a strong base for further growth in the long term”.
It added the business was “well positioned” to deal with the recently announced budgetary measures, including the vape tax planned for October 2026, which “may generate a consolidation of the UK vaping market in which well-financed, agile businesses should benefit”.
Supreme estimated a hit of £900k from the tax and minimum wage measures introduced by Labour in the Budget.
Food inflation slowed to 1.8% in November - down from 1.9% in October - as prices for fresh products such as seafood increased and tea prices remained high, according to the BRC-NielsenIQ Shop Price Index.
Fresh food inflation accelerated from 1% to 1.2%, while ambient decelerated from 3.1% to 2.7%.
Overall shop price deflation sat at 0.6% this month, up from 0.8% in October.
British Retail Consortium chief executive Helen Dickinson said: “With significant price pressures on the horizon, November’s figures may signal the end of falling inflation.”
Compass Group is confident of delivering high single-digit profit growth in 2025 after “another year of strong performance”.
Revenues at the catering giant increased 10.6% to $42.2bn in the year ended 30 September on the back of new business wins..
Underlying operating profits rose 16.4% to $3bn.
CEO Dominic Blakemore called 2024 “a year of strong operational and financial performance”.
Supreme shares leapt 3.7% to 180.5p as markets opened, while Compass sank 2.4% to 2,589.5p.
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