Finsbury Food: statement for the first four months

London / UK. (ffg) British Finsbury Food Group PLC, a leading UK speciality bakery manufacturer of cake, bread and morning goods for both the retail and foodservice channels, is providing an update on trading for the first four months of the new financial year.

The Board is pleased to report that, following the very strong growth of recent years, trading has been successfully maintained at these levels into the new financial year and performance is in line with expectation. Total Group sales revenues were 101.5 million GBP during the first four months, despite an established trend of UK retail food market deflation. The UK Bakery division declined by 4.0 percent however the Overseas division, the Group’s 50 percent owned European business, grew by 36.5 percent continuing to demonstrate the strengths of our strategic diversification.

Whilst consumer confidence has remained stronger than anticipated, input costs, which are globally priced in Dollars or Euros, have increased substantially following sterling’s weakness. The Group has been able to respond to these challenges by modifying promotional activity whist also reviewing potential opportunities for reformulation changes to minimise the on-cost and maintain affordability of our great products for customers.

The Group continues to benefit from strong cash-flow allowing elevated levels of investment to increase product innovation and importantly efficiency and productivity throughout the Group. The Directors see this as a fundamental part of our long-term competitiveness as well as enabling the Group to continue to deal with known headwinds such as sterling induced commodity inflation and the planned national living wage increases.

Our larger, more diversified speciality bakery group is a strong multi-channel business which the Board believes is well equipped to deliver growth and improved shareholder value over the coming years.