Greencore CEO Patrick Coveney has reportedly said he has no intention of quitting the food group after it announced the sale of its entire US operation.
He told the Irish Independent that he did not consider stepping down in tandem with the decision by the world's biggest sandwich-maker to ditch America, the expansion into which Mr Coveney conceded he had been an 'advocate and champion' of.
"I had the benefit of becoming CEO when I was in my mid-30s. I'm 47 years of age. I have plenty of enthusiasm and energy to do this job," he said.
"My experience and capability in relationships in the UK, I think, are a very good fit with what we want to do for the next chapter of growth."
Cash And Debt-free Basis
Yesterday the company announced announced the planned sale of its US operations to an affiliate of Hearthside Food Solutions, for £817 million (€926 million) on a cash and debt-free basis.
The convenience foods giant said that the transaction will ‘support a strengthened balance sheet’, with up to £293 million of the proceeds set to be used to reduce leverage.
‘Post-transaction, Greencore will have a leading position in its core UK market, greater financial and strategic flexibility, and potential for dynamic capital management,’ the company said in a statement.
Completion of the deal is expected by late November 2018, following shareholder and competition approval.
'Challenging First Half'
Earlier this year, Greencore announced that it had delivered a 'challenging first half', according to its interim results for the 26 weeks ended 30 March 2018.
The manufacturer of convenience food in the UK and US outlined in a statement that profit growth was 'impacted in particular by previously announced challenges in the original part of the US business.'
“The first half of FY18 has been challenging for Greencore and its shareholders,” Coveney, said at the time.
“While we delivered strong revenue growth in both the UK and US, profit growth was impacted by the challenges experienced in the original part of Greencore’s US division.”
© 2018 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click subscribe to sign up for the Checkout print edition.
