Greencore Group plc has revealed that its pre-tax profits jumped 36.1% to £61.5 million in the 2024 financial year ending 27 September.
The results, published today, showed that group revenue was down by 5.6% on 2023’s level of £1.91 billion, to £1.81 billion.
However, this was in line with expectations published by the group in its fourth-quarter results and the fall was due to the disposal of its Trilby Trading business.
Like-for-like volume growth at the UK’s biggest pre-packaged sandwich maker was ahead of the wider market, driven by a strong performance in key categories and gross margin improvements to 33.2% this year, up 350 basis points from 29.7% in 2023.
Following Greencore's commitment in May 2024 to return £50 million via share buybacks, it announced that it has so far returned £40 million and will launch the final £10 million in buybacks thanks to the company’s strong performance.
The company also announced the reintroduction of a dividend, proposing 2.0p per share payable on 6 February 2025.
In addition to its financial results, the company also reported high operational service levels, several contract renewals, and a new large ready meals contract.
‘Well-Positioned’
Speaking about the results, CEO of Greencore Dalton Phillips – now starting his third year in the role – said, “The group delivered excellent progress against its key financial metrics and strategic priorities in FY24, underpinned by close customer engagement in a period that continued to be defined by cost inflation and muted consumer confidence.
“I would like to thank all our Greencore colleagues whose continued dedication has enabled us to deliver these results.
“Over the last 12 months, we have remained focused on making high-quality food, rebuilding our profitability, and positioning Greencore to be known as the UK’s leading convenience foods manufacturer.
“We continue to make progress against each of our strategic objectives and are well-positioned to continue this momentum in FY25 and over the longer term.
“The Group has maintained its strong financial discipline, with leverage reduced to 1.0x, while also returning a further £40 million to shareholders and announcing an additional share buyback.
“I am also delighted that today marks a return to Greencore paying dividends.
“The strength of our balance sheet will provide us with the ability to invest in the growth and efficiency of our business to pursue M&A opportunities on a selective basis, while also enabling us to deliver increasing returns to shareholders.”
On future plans, Phillips said, “Looking ahead, we expect Adjusted Operating Profit for FY25 to be within the top half of the range of current market expectations and we’ll share more detail on our medium-term growth strategy at our Capital Markets Day in February.”
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