Cranswick lifts dividend as meat sales boost profits

Food producer Cranswick upped its dividend as higher meat sales from exports to China and home cooking during the coronavirus lockdown drove a rise in annual profits.

The company lifted its final dividend by 9.3% to 43.7p a share. Adjusted pre-tax profits rose 11.2% to £102.3m as the company reported a "positive" start to trading in the new fiscal year, although it warned of "uncertainty around the longer-term effects of the Covid-19 crisis and Brexit negotiations".

Excluding turnover from Katsouris Brothers, acquired during the first half of the year, and that from the more recent livestock acquisitions, Packington Pork and White Rose Farms, revenue on a like-for-like basis up 13%. Total sales rose 16% to £1.7bn.

Total export revenue rose 92%, with Far East exports up 122%, as African swine fever impacted prices and demand on exports to the Far East.

"By year end, the widespread outbreak in China had resulted in a reduction of nearly 50% in the Chinese herd and an increase of almost 150% in the country’s pig price from January 2019," the company said.