Bakkavor Group plc (LON:BAKK), the leading provider of fresh prepared food, today announced its full year unaudited results for the 52-week period ended 29 December 2018.
HIGHLIGHTS
· Group revenue increased 2.2% to £1,855.2m, up 3.2% on a like-for-like1 basis
– positive performance in the UK despite a tough market, with like-for-like1 growth of 1.8%
– accelerated growth in both the US and China, with a like-for-like1 increase of 16%
· UK adjusted EBITDA1 margin maintained, with Group adjusted EBITDA1 up 0.6% to £153.5m in a year of cost inflation and significant transition in the US
· All four key development projects on track – two new US sites opened, Shanghai construction completed and expansion of UK desserts site progressing well
· Acquisition of Haydens Bakery Limited further increases capacity and capability in our desserts category and already delivering synergy benefits
· Final dividend of 4p per share proposed, giving a total dividend of 6p per share for the year
|
£ million |
FY 2018 |
FY 2017 |
Change |
|
Group revenue |
1,855.2 |
1,814.8 |
2.2% |
|
Like-for-like revenue1 |
1,842.0 |
1,784.6 |
3.2% |
|
Adjusted EBITDA1 |
153.5 |
152.6 |
0.6% |
|
Adjusted EBITDA1 margin |
8.3% |
8.4% |
(10) bps |
|
Profit before tax |
77.9 |
39.0 |
38.9 |
|
Basic EPS |
11.6p |
5.8p |
5.8p |
|
Adjusted EPS1 |
14.7p |
13.3p |
1.4p |
|
Free cash flow1 |
55.1 |
71.1 |
(16.0) |
|
Net debt |
306.6 |
266.6 |
(40.0) |
|
Total dividend proposed |
6p |
n/a |
n/a |
Agust Gudmundsson, Bakkavor Group Chief Executive Officer, said: “We delivered a robust performance in 2018, successfully driving growth across our UK and International businesses against a backdrop of significant market challenges. This reflects our market-leading expertise in producing great tasting fresh food, the quality of our people and our strong partnerships with customers.
“Subdued consumer confidence and inflationary pressures have continued into 2019, and therefore we remain cautious and expect little improvement in underlying market conditions. Consequently, we expect limited growth in the UK and a corresponding decline in the Group’s EBITDA margin in the first half of the year.
“However, in the second half, we anticipate an uplift in UK revenues as we benefit from recently secured new business. Given this additional volume, together with the actions we are taking to protect profitability, we expect a significant improvement in our trading in the second half of the year and our full year Group performance to be broadly in line with 2018.
“Looking further ahead, we remain confident that our strategy, combined with our scale and expertise leaves us well-placed to capitalise on further growth opportunities within the attractive FPF market, both in the UK and overseas.”
