Deflation hits food giant Princes
PRINCES, the Liverpool-based food and drink group, has reported an 18% fall in profits during what it described as a challenging year.
The group, which has its headquarters at the Royal Liver Building and is owned by Japanese conglomerate Mitsubishi, saw turnover in the year to the end of March 2015 fall from £1.6bn to £1.5bn, while pre-tax profits fell from £65.1m to £53m.
Princes, well known for its own-label tinned products as well as pasta brand Napolina, Branston, Crosse & Blackwell and water brand Aqua Pura, supplies many of the leading supermarket groups which have struggled to grow over the past year due to competition from the likes of Aldi and Lidl.
Referring to the retail price war, a spokesperson said: “During the past financial year, we have increased employee numbers, continued to grow and diversify our product range and invest in our manufacturing facilities to meet market demand.
“Despite deflationary pressure and challenging trading conditions, we are well placed to continue to grow and develop our business.”
During the year Princes invested in two tuna processing plants in Mauritius and took a 33% stake in a fish meal plant business. It grew its employee numbers by more than 200 to 4,939 and invested in new product developments.
Despite the fall in profits, Princes paid a dividend of £16.4m to its parent company, an increase of £1m on the 2014 payout.
In November the company announced plans to invest £15m in a major extension and redevelopment project at its bottled water site in Eden Valley, Cumbria for its Aqua Pura brand.
