Fresca Group has reported a third consecutive year of solid growth, with group turnover breaching the £500m mark.
In its annual report for the year ending 26 April 2024, the grower and fresh produce supplier reported an increase in sales of 13.8% to £523m.
Gross profit also rose from £16.7m to £20.3m, however, operating profit fell due to a notable acquisition in the period, falling £5.5m to £1.6m.
The company reported its results had been impacted by the increased stake it took in Thanet Earth, which means it now owns 100% of Thanet Earth Peppers. It acquired the shares owned by one of its joint venture partners in the business, Rainbow Growers Group.
“Clearly this acquisition has a material impact on our result this year,” said Martyn Fletcher, group CEO of Fresca Group.
EBITDA for the company also grew from £12.9m last year to £13.4m as a result of continued “close management” of costs.
“It’s been an exciting year, during which we have continued to expand our growing businesses and joint ventures, invested further in protected crops and introduced further quality and automation technologies,” said Fletcher.
The company also made a £3m investment in a new Avocado Centre of Excellence for The Avocado Company – both increasing capacity and introducing new state-of-the-art ripening facilities, yielding a better-quality product whilst lowering its overall environmental impact.
It also acquired an 8.25-acre nursery located in Chichester to enable the company to produce leafy salads. Once redeveloped, the site will have the capacity to produce leaf products under 27,000 sq m of glass all year round.
On his outlook for the current trading year, Fletcher said “all businesses have faced an unprecedented number of challenges over recent years, and we anticipate more of the same such as climate change, geopolitical issues and new government legislations”.
“Nevertheless, it is our job to manage change in all of its forms which, together with our committed colleagues, we’ve demonstrated our ability to do over the last 150 years, delivering great-quality produce and service to our customers,” he added.
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