Rieber + Son: Divestment of cake factory in Poland

Bergen / NO. (rs) Norwegian Rieber + Son ASA has signed an agreement to divest the cake factory in Poland producing ambient shelf stable ready cakes. Rieber + Son is well positioned in Poland through the Delecta brand, which today has strong market positions within baking, cake mixes and desserts. Ambient shelf stable ready cakes are not a prioritised category within Rieber + Son, and hence do not fit within the company´s vision to develop and utilize our competitiveness through local taste setting. «With a fragmented portfolio we had to make a decision concerning which of our categories should be top priority», said BU director Piotr Sienko in Rieber + Son Poland. «Uniqueness, growth potential, fit to assortment, profitability and size of the category are the priority settings. As a result, even though Delecta is a sweet brand, ready made cakes did not feature in our prioritised categories», said Sienko. The divestment is part of Rieber + Son´s strategic platform «Our Future», which among other focuses on the review of the core business. The divested cake factory had a turnover of approximately seven million Norwegian Crowns (NOK) in 2009. The assets related to this factory were subject to market value adjustment at year-end 2009, and hence the sale will have a neutral effect in the accounts in 2010. Master Group Spolka z.o.o., which will acquire the cake factory, will continue the production and maintain the jobs for the 23 people, who are employed at the plant.