Based in the United Kingdom (U.K.), food company Cranswick PLC is reporting a 25% year-on-year increase in profit for the first six months of this financial year.
At more than GBP1.25 billion (US$1.57 billion), sales revenue by Cranswick for the half-year to September 23, was more than 12% higher than in the comparable period of last year.
The company, based in Hessle in East Yorkshire, reports strong sales volume growth across all four of its main business areas — pig and poultry meats, convenience foods and pet food.
Higher sales helped to drive up operating profit by 25% year-on-year to GBP85.5 million for the six-month period, and operating margin by 69 basis points to 6.8%.
At GBP81.6 million, pre-tax profit was almost 24% above the level reported for the previous fiscal year.
Despite a challenging inflationary cycle, the company successfully managed its costs, according to Cranswick CEO Adam Couch. He also highlighted the group’s ongoing focus on product quality and customer service.
Investments in technology, expansion
”Our continued positive progress is made possible by the substantial ongoing investment in our asset base, expansion of our pig farming operations, and the quality and capability of our colleagues across the business,” said Crouch.
Since 2016, Cranswick has invested GBP600 million in new facilities, automation and capacity expansion, he said.
Among recent capital projects undertaken by the company are an ongoing GBP62 million expansion project at its pork primary processing facility in Hull in East Yorkshire.
In recent months, Cranswick spent GBP31.7 million acquiring pig farming group, Elsham Linc Ltd. This not only helped to raise the company’s self-sufficiency in U.K. pigs to more than 50%, but it also provided additional feed milling capacity, and diversified the group’s pig farming business. Elsham Linc rears the animals indoors.
More on Cranswick PLC
According to the firm’s website, Cranswick is a leading and innovative supplier of premium, fresh and added-value food products in the U.K. Its four main businesses are in fresh pork, poultry, convenience foods and pet food. The firm’s last annual report also lists its products as pastry, sausage, bacon, and premium cooked poultry meat.
As well as exports and a presence in the “food-to-go” sector, the company supplies the country’s leading grocery chains and discount retailers.
Cranswick’s roots go back approximately 50 years, when it was founded by farmers in East Yorkshire to produce animal feed. Since then, it has developed a workforce of more than 14,000 people at 22 modern facilities across the country.
