Meaty year for Cranswick as sales rise after £25m investment

FOOD supplier Cranswick has finished the year with a strong final quarter, after investing millions in their facilities over the past 12 months.

Total sales in the final quarter were 4% higher and 1% higher for the full financial year.

Export sales to non-European markets grew with full year volumes increasing “strongly” compared to the previous year.

The meat supplier group invested £25 million in its infrastructure during the year ended 31 March 2015, improving processing and production facilities at their poultry production site Benson Park in Hull.

The major investment programme at the site is reportedly on track and is expected to be commissioned in the autumn of 2015.

The extension to the Milton Keynes cooked meats facility,completed earlier in the financial year, and chilling system in Cranswick’s Norfolk site added substantial capacity and is delivering ongoing efficiency gains.

Year-end net debt is substantially lower than at the end of the third quarter and similar to the level reported at the last financial year end, due to strong cash generation in the final quarter, according to the firm.

The group is in a strong financial position, with committed, unsecured facilities of £120 million which provide comfortable headroom.

Cranswick recently won top Listed Business at TheBusinessDesk.com’s Business Masters 2015 in February.