Snacks giant Walkers Snack Foods suffered a 6% drop in revenues last year as competition in the sector intensified.

The manufacturer saw turnover fall from £273m to £256.3m in the year to 28 December 2013, accounts filed with Companies House reveal.

The PepsiCo-owned company said the drop in revenues was primarily due to “increased competition in the marketplace” and “pricing changes.”

Retail prices across the sector rose following a poor potato crop in 2012, putting pressure on volume sales. According to The Grocer’s Top Products survey 2013, the average price of standard Walkers packs went up by 7.9% during the year.

The crisp-maker’s gross profit fell by 7.8% to £36.1m, but operating profit was significantly higher due to the £16.2m of pension deficit payments the company made in 2012. Consequently, pre-tax profit on ordinary activities jumped to £12.9m from £208,000 the previous year.

Walkers is ranked third in The Grocer’s 2014 list of Britain’s Biggest Grocery Brands and has recently ramped up its marketing with the return of the Do Us a Flavour campaign.

PepsiCo declined to comment.

Topics