Finsbury posts ‘positive’ results in challenging market

Finsbury’s sales revenues grew to £156.6M for the half year to December 26 2015, a 46% increase on the previous year.

This included like-for-like growth of 7.4% over the first half of the prior year.

Finsbury’s UK Bakery division grew by 6.1% on a like-for-like basis and its overseas division, the group’s 50% owned European business, grew by 18.8%.

‘Significant’ investment ​

The growth came off the back of “significant”​ promotional investment, new product development, investment in infrastructure and acquisitions, Finsbury’s ceo John Duffy said.

"Performance in the period has been strong, for both the group as a whole and also, importantly, on a like-for-like basis,” ​he said.

“We continue to operate in an environment with external pressures, however through the group’s leading position in the market, its diversified product and customer base, and its ongoing investment in the business, we are confident that we can continue to drive growth and deliver value for our shareholders.”​

Boost shareholder value​

Finsbury would continue to invest through capital expenditure in the business to secure future growth and boost shareholder value, Duffy added.

In June 2015, Finsbury snapped up East-Kilbride foodservice supplier Johnstone’s Just Desserts​ from administrators, saving 150 jobs.

Duffy said the business was fully integrated and performing strongly.

In October 2014, Finsbury bought Fletchers Group of Bakeries for £56M​ from Vision Capital in a bid to exploit the foodservice market, which is worth £900M – 70% of which is morning goods.