Iceland Foods delivered a 'year of good progress' last year, according to the retailer's full year results for the 52 weeks ending 29 March 2013. Sales were up 1.0% to £2.64 billion, while adjusted EBITDA was up 0.6% to £226.3 million. On a 52 week comparable basis, EBITDA increased by £1.4 million year-on-year.
Last June, the company acquired Loxton Foods Ltd, which is supplier of ready meals to the Group, while in September it completed the disposal of 54 Cooltrader stores to Heron Foods Limited. On the Loxton Foods acquisition, Malcolm Walker, Iceland chairman and chief executive said: "This strategic acquisition of a key supplier was designed to strengthen our competitive edge further by enabling us to accelerate the rate of product innovation and to secure the benefits of vertical integration."
Iceland opened 36 new stores during the period and closed three, making for a total of 790 Iceland stores at year-end. A further 40 new Iceland Stores are planned for the rest of 2013, with the online offering set to expand also. “We will offer our customers the ability to shop with us online, building on the successful initial trials of the service in selected stores that began last month," Walker commented.
