Finsbury targets growth in exports

Deputy Business Editor

Tuesday 25 September 2012

FINSBURY Food Group is targeting greater export sales and further growth in the gluten-free sector.

Custom byline text:

greig cameron deputy business editor

Annual sales at the company, which employs more than 1100 people at Lightbody Cakes in Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, and around 200 at United Central Bakeries in Bathgate, West Lothian, topped £200 million for the first time.

They rose by 9.4% to £207.4 million in the 12 months to June 30, 2012.The cake section was up 9.2%, from £139.6m to £152.4m, with the bread and gluten-free arm rising nearly 10%, from £50m to £54.9m. Almost £178m of total sales were in the UK, with European figures, mostly in France as part of a joint venture at Rennes, increasing from £19m to £28.4m.Revenue from the rest of the world more than doubled from £390,000 to £1m, with strong sales in Australia and America. In spite of rising raw ingredient prices pre-tax profits increased from £5.8m to £6.5m. The five largest customers were Tesco, Morrisons, Sainsbury's, Asda and Waitrose and accounted for around 75% of total income, which was down from 79%.Finsbury reduced net debt from £37.1m to £33.9m.Finance director Stephen Boyd expects more rapid growth to come through the gluten-free ranges as bread and cakes are "mature" markets. He said: "Free-from is a sector which is getting a lot of interest and a lot more consumers coming into it so I would expect to see it continue to grow."Mr Boyd added Finsbury was considering widening non-UK sales and had recently appointed a new export manager.He said: "Clearly any business would want to look to expand further. "The products we sell are primarily fresh so it can be tricky to ship them to the other side of the world. "We have had some recent big frozen business in Australia which we hope will continue and also the free-from business's Livwell brand is selling to Australia and America. "If we can get into opportunities on the other side of the world we will take those. "We have recently recruited in Scotland an export manager to focus in on the celebration cake business as well as free-from and we expect great things."Chairman Martin Lightbody said the firm will consider takeovers if the right opportunity comes up. He said: "Historically, our acquisition skills have been demonstrated to good effect, investing in businesses that provide a strategic fit and helping those businesses grow. "As and when the time is appropriate, I feel confident we will demonstrate those skills once again."

Contextual targeting label:

Business

Commenting & Moderation

We moderate all comments on HeraldScotland on either a pre-moderated or post-moderated basis. If you're a relatively new user then your comments will be reviewed before publication and if we know you well then your comments will be subject to moderation only if other users or the moderators believe you've broken the rules, which are available here.

Moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours. Please be patient if your posts are not approved instantly.

Finsbury targets growth in exports

Commenting & Moderation

MOST READ

SPONSORED LINKS

MOST COMMENTED