Elevated demand for Yorkshire Tea and Taylors of Harrogate has pushed revenues at owner Bettys & Taylors Group above a quarter of a billion pounds for the first time, but rising costs dented profits.
An influx of new shoppers to roast and ground coffee during the height of the pandemic, as well as adoption of its coffee bags innovation, continued to benefit the company, while Yorkshire Tea defied the wider decline in the traditional black tea category.
Yorkshire Tea was the only traditional tea brand in growth last year, with value up 3.4% to £119.1m as volumes rose 7.2%, and Taylors increased value 8.1% to £58.6m, according to the Grocer’s Top Products report. Bettys and Taylors said Yorkshire Tea’s market-leading position also strengthened, with share rising to 33.7%.
Revenues at the group rose 8.8% to £252.7m in the year ended 31 October 2021 as a result, newly filed accounts at Companies House revealed this week.
Strong growth at the online Bettys by Post business also contributed to the top line as its five iconic tea rooms continued to be affected by lockdown restrictions.
Group operating profits fell 21% to £11.9m because of the disruption, with Bettys & Taylors foregoing government financial support and paying all its staff in full during closures.
Rising costs for transport, logistics and packaging also held back profits as the year progressed, coupled with a return to wider promotions at supermarkets following the initial stages of the pandemic.
Group finance & resources director Paul Cogan said it had been “another challenging year”.
“Thanks to the commitment and passion of our people, the loyalty of our customers and the strength of our family business values, we were able to successfully navigate these turbulent times and deliver a robust financial performance, achieving a quarter of a billion sales for the first time in the group’s history,” he added.
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