Food manufacturer Bakkavor has said that while the start of its 2019 financial year is likely to post 'limited growth', things will pick up as the year progresses.
The group made the assessment as it posted a 2.2% increase in group revenue to £1.855 billion, a 3.2% rise on a like-for-like basis, for the full-year period to 29 December.
Like-for-like sales were up 1.8% in the UK, and by 16% in the US and China, albeit off a smaller base.
On the year ahead, the group said that 'subdued consumer confidence' and 'inflationary pressures' are impacting its business as it enters into 2019, "and therefore we remain cautious and expect little improvement in underlying market conditions," said Agust Gudmundsson, the group's chief executive.
"Consequently, we expect limited growth in the UK and a corresponding decline in the Group’s EBITDA margin in the first half of the year," he added.
Second-Half Boost
However, the group is expecting a boost to UK revenues, on the back of a recent acquisition, to materialise in the second half of the year, raising the group's performance overall.
"Given this additional volume, together with the actions we are taking to protect profitability, we expect a significant improvement in our trading in the second half of the year and our full year Group performance to be broadly in line with 2018," said Gudmundsson.
“Looking further ahead, we remain confident that our strategy, combined with our scale and expertise leaves us well-placed to capitalise on further growth opportunities within the attractive FPF market, both in the UK and overseas.”
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
