REG - Finsbury Food Group - AGM Statement

Finsbury FoodAnnouncement

17/11/2022 07:01

For best results when printing this announcement, please click on link below:
http://newsfile.refinitiv.com/getnewsfile/v1/story?guid=urn:newsml:reuters.com:20221117:nRSQ6743Ga&default-theme=true

RNS Number : 6743G  Finsbury Food Group PLC  17 November 2022

 Date:          17 November 2022
 On behalf of:  Finsbury Food Group Plc ('Finsbury', 'the Company' or 'the Group')
 For immediate release

 

Finsbury Food Group Plc

AGM Statement

 

Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF), a leading UK specialty bakery manufacturer
of cake, bread and morning goods for both the retail and foodservice channels,
will be holding its Annual General Meeting today at 9.00am. At the meeting,
Peter Baker, Non-Executive Chairman of the Company, will make the following
statement:

 

"As reported in the Group's full year results in September, to have delivered
a record revenue performance that was in line with market expectations despite
the numerous and complex challenges that we were faced with demonstrated the
resilience and agility of the Group and the enduring appeal of our product
range. These challenges started with the effects of the Covid-19 crisis
followed by the significant cost inflation of all inputs whether it be
materials, utilities, labour and, indeed, overheads in general.

 

The robust performance of the previous financial year to 2nd July 2022 has
continued into the current financial year. Sales for the first four months of
FY23 grew by 15.7% to £122.8m, driven by a mix of volume growth of 1.1% and
price recovery of 14.6%. Our retail business continues to perform well,
foodservice continued to bounce back, and our overseas division continued to
see strong growth.

 

The macro-economic and cost inflation headwinds that we have had to face
throughout the opening months of the new financial year have been at levels in
excess of those experienced in FY22. These are set to persist for the
remainder of the year, making it difficult to predict exactly how the rest of
the year will unfold, however, we continue to mitigate them through revised
commercial arrangements, operational improvements and other supply chain and
overhead initiatives. Whilst it is too early to categorise it as a long-term
trend, we are starting to see a shift in consumer behaviour as they look to
spend in less expensive retail channels and are seeking greater value for
money which should accelerate food retailers' Own Label sales. We believe our
market position in these channels and the diversification of our product range
will stand us in good stead as we navigate this challenging economic
environment.

 

Looking ahead, our focus on strategic execution will not waver and we are
committed to making sustained progress against our three pillars of
Excellence, Growth and Responsibility, all of which are underpinned by our
Operating Principles. Finsbury has a strong track record of moving forwards as
a business in difficult times and this gives the Board confidence that the
Group will continue to make progress and deliver profitable growth."

 

The AGM will be broadcast live on the Investor Meet Company platform.
Investors can sign up to Investor Meet Company for free and add the Company
via:
https://www.investormeetcompany.com/finsbury-food-group-plc/register-investor
(https://www.investormeetcompany.com/finsbury-food-group-plc/register-investor)

 

- ENDS -

 

For further information:

 Finsbury Food Group                                                                    www.finsburyfoods.co.uk (http://www.finsburyfoods.co.uk)  029 20 357 500

 John Duffy (Chief Executive)

 Steve Boyd (Finance Director)

 Panmure Gordon (UK) Limited                                                                                                                      020 7886 2500

 Oliver Cardigan (Corporate Finance)

 Atholl Tweedie

 Erik Anderson (Corporate Broking)

 Alma                                                                                   finsbury@almapr.co.uk (mailto:finsbury@almapr.co.uk)      020 3405 0205
 PR

 Sam Modlin

 David Ison

 Matthew Young

 

Notes to Editors:

·      Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF) is a leading UK and European
manufacturer of cake and bread bakery goods, supplying a broad range of
blue-chip customers within both the grocery retail and 'out of home eating'
foodservice sectors including major multiples and leading foodservice
providers.

·      The Company is one of the largest speciality bakery groups in the
UK and, together with its overseas division, has sales in the financial year
ending 2 July 2022 of £357 million.

·      The Company's bakery product range is comprehensive and includes:

·      Large premium and celebration cakes;

·      Small snacking cake formats such as cake slices and bites;

·      Artisan, healthy lifestyle and organic breads through to rolls,
muffins (sweet and savoury) and morning pastries, all of which are available
both fresh and frozen dependent on customer channel requirements; and

·      Gluten Free bread, morning goods and cake ranges.

·      The Company is one of the largest ambient cake manufacturers in
the UK, a market valued at £1.04 billion (source: IRI 52 w/e 8th October
2022). The retail bread and morning goods market has a value of £5.3 billion
(source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 4th September 2022). The retail Free From
cake market is valued at £58 million (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 4th
September 2022). The retail Free From bread and morning goods market is valued
at £166 million (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 4th September 2022).

 

·      The Company comprises a core UK bakery division and an overseas
division:

·      The UK bakery division has manufacturing sites in Cardiff, East
Kilbride, Hamilton, Salisbury, Sheffield, Manchester, and Pontypool.

·      The overseas division comprises the Company's 85% owned company,
Lightbody-Stretz Limited, which supplies and distributes the Group's
UK-manufactured products and third-party products, primarily to Europe, and
the Company's manufacturing facilities in Rybarzowice and Żywiec in Poland.

 

This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact
rns@lseg.com (mailto:rns@lseg.com)
 or visit
www.rns.com (http://www.rns.com/)
.

RNS may use your IP address to confirm compliance with the terms and conditions, to analyse how you engage with the information contained in this communication, and to share such analysis on an anonymised basis with others as part of our commercial services. For further information about how RNS and the London Stock Exchange use the personal data you provide us, please see our
Privacy Policy (https://www.lseg.com/privacy-and-cookie-policy)
.   END  AGMBKABBABDDADD