Convenience foods manufacturer Greencore said on Thursday that group revenues had improved in the first quarter of its trading year, driven by strong growth in its food-to-go categories.
Greencore stated group revenues were up 24.4% year-on-year on a reported basis at £389.0m, while food-to-go revenues were up 34.9% at £254.3m and other convenience food categories were 8.5% higher at £134.7m.
When compared to 2019’s pre-Covid levels, group revenues were up 7.5%, food-to-go 6.1% higher, and other convenience food was 10.3% stronger.
During the quarter, Greencore said it had continued to progress well with the recovery of input cost and other inflation with customers, but noted the pace of profit conversion continued to be impacted by industry-wide supply chain and labour challenges stemming from the pandemic.
Looking forward, Greencore said uncertainty regarding the duration and impact of Covid-19 variants on its trading environment had made it more difficult to predict its 2022 performance.
However, the FTSE 250-listed firm continues to anticipate a full-year outturn in line with market expectations, assuming no material resumption of mobility restrictions or lockdowns in the UK. Profitability was also projected to be heavily weighted towards “the seasonally important” second half of the year.
As of 0830 GMT, Greencore shares were up 0.16% at 125.20p.
