Food group progresses despite tough grocery sector
FOOD manufacturer Boparan Holdings – parent company of 2 Sisters Food Group – is continuing to feel the chill from the tough grocery sector.
Q2 sales saw a 0.6% reduction on the same period last year to £792m. However, pre-tax profits showed a turnaround from a £7.6m loss last Q2 to a £20.3m surplus for the latest three months.
The company said it was encouraged by the performance and said its restructuring of the business was beginning to signs of success.
Ranjit Singh, 2 Sisters Food Group CEO, said: “In this quarter we are seeing signs of our strategy to build a better business starting to deliver.
“I am pleased to report that the progress we experienced in previous quarters continues with improved performances in like-for-like sales and operating profit, despite the fragile grocery market.”
He said there had been important successes throughout the business, with new wins and new product development.
The company’s £150m investment programme is said to be progressing well. In Poultry, it has identified suitable locations that will help to improve efficiency and delivery; a move which it said would fundamentally change the supply chain.
“In our Chilled division, our strategic investment project continues on time and to budget, with capital works at Carlisle and Rogerstone now largely completed,” he added.
“The leasing of the additional site in Derbyshire is also on track with manufacturing scheduled to start later this spring. This will allow us to facilitate the Protein Footprint Programme quicker and without increased cost.”
It said in outlook, its plans to build a ‘better before bigger’ business were progressing well. Encouraging performances across the various divisions were evidence that a commitment to improve efficiency and to drive profitable sales was starting to pay off, it said.
“Our strategy to invest across the business is delivering improved performance and we remain confident as we move into the second half of our financial year,” it added.
