Owner of Fox’s Biscuits and Goodfella’s pizzas, 2 Sisters Food Group, has reported a 13.4% increase in turnover, to £2.3bn, as the integration of Northern Foods nears completion.
Like-for-like sales in the year to 28 July also grew 9.5%, to £2.3bn and EBITDA (pre-restructuring costs) improved by 11.9%, to £190.3m.
2 Sisters had made a solid start to its new financial year, but remained cautious in a difficult economic environment, said CEO Ranjit Singh Boparan. “Trading conditions are very challenging with high food commodity inflation, further recent significant increases in feed prices and cash-conscious consumers.” Despite those pressures, 2 Sisters would continue to work with its customers to deliver quality and value to consumers, he added.
The company reported a strong performance in poultry and chilled food - full-year like-for-like sales were up 10.1% and 10.5% respectively. The company also reported a “steady performance” in its biscuits division, and an “improving performance” in frozen foods.
Work was in progress to restore the Brookes Avana business that 2 Sisters bought in December last year for £30m, and the Northern Foods integration was near completion, the company said. The company achieved a break-even performance at Brookes Avana in the year to 28 July.
2 Sisters warned that the recent significant increases in feed prices would continue but the company would seek to recover them through selling price increases, volumes and efficiency.
The company’s net debt to EBITDA ratio had continued to improve, to 2.8 times at the end of the fourth quarter, from 3.3 at the end of the third quarter, the company added. Net debt at 28 July stood at £533.8m.
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