Real Good Food tucks in to higher profits
SUGAR, coooking ingredients and bakery supplier Real Good Food Company is on course to meet its ambitious target of doubling in size over the next three years, its boss says.
Announcing strong financial results for 2011, Pieter Totté, executive chairman of the Liverpool-based group said he was pleased with progress on all fronts.
Continuing profit before tax surged 148% to £5.7m, while ebitda was 62% ahead in the period to £9.1m. Revenue was up by around 20% from £200m to £249m.
Debt was reduced in the period too, ending 2011 at £25.8m, down from £31.9m in the six months to June 30.
Real Good Food said the strong performance had been driven by focusing on brand development and driving sales growth.
Mr Totté, said: “We have a clear growth plan. Our strategic focus is on creating solid sustainable profitability based on self-help initiatives including brand development, sales growth and risk management.
“We are now seeing significant benefits coming through from this. We are also benefitting from our adjustment to the structural development in market supply affecting our biggest business, Sugar, in which we moved from a surplus market to a deficit market, with associated higher prices and the need to secure surety of supply.”
He said trading had started positively in January, and added: “I am confident of meeting our expectations for 2012, and of remaining on track to achieve our aspiration of doubling the size of the business within three years.”
Real Good Food owns Napier Brown, the largest independent non-refining distributor of sugar in Europe. Its other businesses are Garrett, a supplier of dairy ingredients, bakery ingredients supplier Renshaw, jam and bakery ingredients specialist R&W Scott and Haydens Bakery, which makes patisserie and desserts.
The group said it had seen particularly strong second half ebitda performance of £6.4m (2010: £5m), and the key trading divisions of Napier Brown, Garrett and Renshaw had all increased their earnings year-on- year.
