Cranswick lifts dividend as FY profits rise

Food producer and supplier Cranswick lifted its dividend after reporting a 10.4% rise in annual profits as sales to retail customers offset a fall in food service due to Covid lockdowns.

The company on Tuesday said pre-tax profit came in at £114.8m from £104.0m a year ago on revenues up 13.9% to £1.9bn. It lifted the full year dividend by 15.9% to 70.0p a share, marking 31 years of unbroken dividend growth.

" Working closely with customers we were able to optimise service levels to meet this increased demand and the rising prominence of the online channel. Employment levels were maintained and there has been no call on the government Job Retention Scheme or other government-backed assistance," said outgoing chairman Martin Davey,

Cranswick said it had not encountered any problems from Brexit, but said it was experiencing continuing “short term challenges relating to the supply of products to Northern Ireland and in securing Export Health Certificates”.