Sales up, profits flat at Morning Foods
HISTORIC Cheshire food manufacturer Morning Foods has reported flat profits on turnover up a healthy 16.8% to £128.8m.
The privately-owned oats producer, which traces its roots back to 1875, said profits in the year to the end of July 2012 were marginally down at £4.6m, compared with £4.7m the previous year.
Although no explanation about the financial performance was provided by the company, staff costs rose by £700,000 to £13.3m as the workforce grew from 334 to 363.
The company, which owns the Mornflake Oats brand, said its focus has been on making “major advances in production processes” and on developing contracts with UK farms for growing and developing of oat crop.
In addition major progress has been made on becoming more energy efficient: Writing in the directors’ report finance director DavidWarr said: “”Our environmental footprint has been substantially reduced with improvements being recorded, in particular, in areas of water usage, electricity usage and packaging waste reduction.
“In addition, the group is now generating a substantial proportion of its own electricity from renewable sources as well as supplying electricity directly into the National Grid.”
Morning Foods’ other products include Superfast Oats, Jumbo Oats, Oatbran, Oatmeal and Oatbran Flakes. Its roots lie in a Cheshire milling business set up in 1675, and managing director John Lea is a direct descendant of the original miller, William Lea.
Shareholders funds from from £22.5m to £25.4m, the accounts reveal.
