As in the first half of the year, trading continued to be affected by consumers seeking better value through trading down and more frequently choosing products on promotion. This has led to a decrease in group revenue for the last financial year to 30 June 2010 of 4.1% to £168.3m after adjusting for the 53-week year, with strong bread and ‘free from’ sales partially offsetting the decline in our larger cake division.
Bread and ‘free from’ division sales continued to grow strongly throughout the year, with growth of 9.3%, after adjusting for acquisitions and the additional week of trading in the prior year. Underpinning this growth was the successful national rollout of the ‘Genius free from’ fresh bread brand. The prior year’s acquisition of Goswells speciality breads, including the Vogel brand, drove growth to 16.5% including the acquisition.
Sales in the cake division were down 9.7% compared with the prior year after adjusting for its extra trading week. In addition to the decision to exit specific low-margin business, coupled with a bias towards premium and healthier cakes, which have been particularly affected, the overall cake market also declined. Some branded cake sales have continued to buck this trend, with Thorntons-branded cake sales up 5.2% year on year after adjusting for the extra trading week.
“As a premium craft baker in a challenging trading environment, we’ve continued to invest in our branded innovation led growth opportunities while also improving our internal efficiency, talent and competitiveness,” said chief executive, John Duffy. “We have performed in line with management expectations, and when we emerge from this recession we will be competitively stronger and better positioned for growth as consumers seek higher quality products that taste great.”
Source: Finsbury Food Group
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