Half Year results for the 26 weeks ending 28 September 2024
Financial Headlines:
• Headline Revenue up 4.6%; headline branded revenue up +6.8%
• Total Headline Grocery branded revenue up +7.0%, Sweet Treats branded revenue up +6.1%
• Double digit branded volume growth in both Grocery and Sweet Treats
• Volume and value market share gains
• Non-branded revenue down (10.4%) as consumers switch to brands from own label, and low-margin contract exits
• Headline Trading profit +5.5%; margins slightly ahead of prior period
• Profit after tax £39.5m, £3.2m lower reflecting lower non-cash pension credit compared to prior period
• Net debt £221.3m, £51.8m lower than prior period and Net debt/EBITDA reduced to 1.1x
• On track to deliver on full year expectations
Strategic Headlines:
• UK branded revenue +5.6%, with volumes up due to strong innovation and sharper promotional pricing
• Infrastructure investment up 63%; focus on efficiency, automation and growth capital projects
• International revenue up +31% with strong growth in all markets
• New categories revenue increased +67% with significant growth across all ranges
• The Spice Tailor and FUEL10K performing well, benefitting from the strength of the branded growth model
Alex Whitehouse, Chief Executive Officer, said:
“We’ve delivered another really strong branded performance in the first half, underpinned by double-digit volume growth.
This demonstrates the success of our proven branded growth model which was also supported by sharper promotional
pricing. We gained both volume and value market share, outperforming the market as many consumers switched into our
leading brands from own label. Our innovation programme continues apace as we brought many new products to market
in the period, including Sharwood’s curry kits, Mr Kipling Loaf cakes and Loyd Grossman Pesto.”
“As inflation has begun to ease and shoppers are starting to feel more confident, we’ve seen consumers treat themselves
more, helping sales of both Mr Kipling Signature Bites and Ambrosia Deluxe more than double in the first half of the year.”
“We’ve continued to make very good progress against all the pillars of our growth strategy. We accelerated capital
investment in our supply chain, continuing to invest in projects to improve automation and increase efficiency, in addition
to enabling growth through new product development. Angel Delight ice cream and Ambrosia porridge pots contributed
to strong progress in our new categories, which grew 67%, while the international business performed very well, with revenue up 31%
. We continue to be very pleased by the progress of our acquired brands, The Spice Tailor and FUEL10K
and we now have the biggest selling granola product on the market.”
“As we look to the second half, we have exciting plans in place across all our brands, with our best ever Mr Kipling
Signature mince pies benefitting from expanded distribution. With this, and our continued branded momentum, we are
on track to deliver on expectations for the full year. As we look further ahead, we expect revenue growth to continue to
be generated from our strategic priorities of growing our UK branded core, extending into new categories, overseas
expansion and M&A activity.”
To read and download the RNS of our Half Year Trading Update for the 26 weeks ended 28 September 2024 please click this link.