Cranswick Q1 revenues grow

Food producer Cranswick said on Monday that revenues had grown 7.6% year-on-year in the 13 weeks ended 25 June.

Cranswick said like-for-like revenues were 5.8% higher, with strong growth in its core UK market partly offset by expected lower export revenue.

Far East export sales were lower than in the same quarter a year earlier due to market prices falling from elevated levels experienced over the previous two years.

While Cranswick noted that the China pig price had strengthened in recent weeks, it was still below the highs of 2019 and 2020. The UK pig price, on the other hand, increased by 27% during the period, reflecting a rapid response to the sharp rise in feed prices with wheat and soya reaching all-time highs.

Net debt was said to be "moderately higher" than at the end of the trading year, reflecting its ongoing capital investment programme and the impact of inflation on both biological assets and net working capital.

Chief executive Adam Couch said: "We have made a positive start to the year notwithstanding the challenging operating conditions we continue to experience.

"Our capital investment programme remains firmly on track as we build the platform to deliver our long-term growth strategy and we continue to make meaningful progress in delivering our Group-wide 'Second Nature' sustainability strategy."

Reporting by Iain Gilbert at Sharecast.com