15 January 2009 - Finsbury Food Group plc, a leading manufacturer of cake, bread and morning goods, is today providing an update on trading for the first half of the current financial year, prior to entering into its closed period.
Group revenue was up 12% compared with the same period last year. The 'full year' effect of the businesses acquired during the course of the previous financial year accounts for 7% of this growth. The inclusion of an additional week's sales due to the current financial year covering 53 weeks, versus 52 weeks in a 'normal' trading year, accounts for a further 3% growth.
Sales in our two smaller divisions, Bread and Free From, have continued to increase with like for like growth, after adjusting for acquisitions and the additional week of trading, of 16% and 23% respectively.
Sales in our largest division, Cake, are up 4% in absolute terms versus the first half of last year but 'flat' on a like for like basis. Growth in this part of our business has been impacted by a reduction in sales of seasonal products in our range.
We have now entered the second half of the current financial year and we continue to invest heavily in promotional activity to support our customers. We are experiencing an increase in demand for products under our licensed brands, in particular Thorntons and WeightWatchers, which complement the ongoing development of our key retailer own brand relationships.
We will continue to adapt our broad product range to reflect changing consumer needs whilst driving improvements in efficiency throughout all aspects of our business. The consumer environment for the next six months remains uncertain, and as a result it is difficult for us to be definitive with regard to our expectation of earnings in this current year. Our current view remains that operating margins are likely to be between 1% and 2% lower than last year; however, we continue to be confident that the demand for our brands and our strong product range will enable us to maintain our leading position in the market place.