Cranswick PLC on Tuesday posted a double-digit rise in profit for its recently ended financial year, with revenue rising above the £2 billion mark on strong poultry and gourmet product sales.

For the year ended March 26, the Yorkshire-based meat producer reported a pretax profit of £129.9 million, a 13% rise from £114.8 million the year before.

This was on revenue which grew 5.8% annually to £2.00 billion from £1.89 billion, driven by a solid rise in poultry volumes, following the expansion of capacity at the company’s Eye facility, as well as growth from the Convenience and Gourmet Products segments.

Poultry revenue increased 31% through the capacity uplift and recovery in food service revenue, while Convenience revenue increased 5.9%, through the introduction of new product ranges for in-home consumption.

Gourmet Products revenue - which includes sausage, bacon and pastry - grew 4.9% annually, on the ramp up of production at the Cooked Bacon facility, and ongoing demand for bacon and pastry products.

However, Fresh Pork posted a weaker annual performance, as a result of lower average pig prices, reduced Far East export volumes and softer export prices.

Cranswick declared a final dividend of 55.6 pence per share, bringing the total payout to 75.6p, an 8.0% increase from 70.0p the prior year.

Looking ahead, Cranswick said that trading at the start of its current financial year was in line with management expectations, in spite of the challenging operating conditions, including labour and supply chain challenges.

‘In a year which has been unprecedented in terms of the scale and breadth of challenges we have faced, we have delivered our strategy at pace and our long-term growth plan remains firmly on track. We have worked tirelessly to support our customers while continuing to prioritise the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues across the business. We have consistently delivered exemplary service levels to our customers, supported our local communities and made great strides toward delivering many of our Second Nature sustainability targets,’ said Chief Executive Officer Adam Couch.

Shares in Cranswick were up 1.5% at 3,206.00 pence each on Tuesday morning in London.

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