Robust results for bakery products group amidst cost-of-living crisis and inflation

A bakery products manufacturer with a site in Bradford has reported revenue, gross profit and adjusted EBITDA growth in its latest set of financial accounts for the year ending 2023 at group level.

Baker & Baker, which employs 360 people at its manufacturing site at Cutler Heights Lane in Bradford, reported revenue growth of 12% to €620m/£521m gross profit growth of 18.2% to €83.9m/£70.5m and adjusted EBITDA (excluding non-underlying items of €11.4m/£9.6m) of €26.5m/£22.2m – an increase of 24.7% on the prior year.

The business added that volume growth of 0.2% during the financial year represented a better than expected performance in light of the cost-of-living crisis and raw material inflation, and the difficulties many of the core bakery categories experienced during 2023.

John Lindsay, CEO, said: “Baker & Baker is a clear category leader in American Sweet Bakery, and our expertise and market know-how offers a key point-of-difference with customers, allowing us to drive sales throughout the retail and food service channels.

“2023 was also characterised by the cost-of-living crisis and inflation across all major food categories, and so to have maintained volume performance in the face of these market challenges represents a significant success.

“Our financial performance in 2023 provided an excellent platform for further growth across the group, and as we seek to expand into new markets in 2024.”

The group carried out structural changes to improve its performance in 2023, including investing €5m/£4.2m in productivity enhancements and a shift in product mix to address changing consumer preferences in the face of the cost-of-living crisis.

It says cost controls were also a key driver of improvement in adjusted EBITDA performance, in comparison to the prior year.

2023 saw the group continue to enter new markets, including its establishment in the Middle East, which began in the latter stages of 2022.

In 2023, the UAE and Jordan became growth markets for the group, paving the way for the business to enter Saudi Arabia and secure its first sales in 2024.

Product launches continued to be a key feature of the group’s incremental sales growth, particularly via its exclusive licensing partnership with Mondelēz.

The business’s cash position improved significantly to €30.3m/£25.4m at the end of 2023.

Baker & Baker employs around 1,400 people in the UK across four sites, including Bradford.