Cranswick profits rise as revenues top £2bn for first time

In the year to 26 March, adjusted pre-tax profit rose 5.6% to £136.9m and revenues pushed up 5.8% to just over £2.0bn. Analysts had been expecting adjusted pre-tax profit £136.3m.

Statutory pre-tax profit was ahead 13.2% at £129.9m, and the full-year dividend was lifted by 8% to 75.6p, as Cranswick hailed 32 years of unbroken dividend growth.

The company said growth has continued in its domestic market, with elevated retail demand offsetting lower revenue from the Far East export market.

"The unprecedented, well-publicised, industry wide labour and supply chain challenges have been well managed with excellent customer service levels maintained," it said. "The cost inflation we continue to experience, a global phenomenon, is being proactively managed and recovered."

Chief executive Adam Couch said: "Trading in the new financial year has been in line with the board's expectations. Notwithstanding the challenging operating conditions we continue to experience, our outlook for the group for the current year is unchanged. We have a solid platform from which to continue Cranswick's successful long-term development."

At 1010 BST, the shares were up 1.3% at 3,200p.

Victoria Scholar, head of investment at Interactive Investor, said: "The food producer is dealing with unprecedented challenges from inflation with a sharp jump in the price of cereals, the biggest cost of growing an animal, as well as a shortage of butchers after Brexit and problems with the global supply chain.

"The fact that in the face of these difficult times Cranswick has managed to beat full-year expectations on the bottom line and stick to its guidance comes as a welcome surprise to investors, sending shares sharply higher to buck the recent negativity."