FDBusiness.com

Finsbury Food Group, the UK manufacturer of cake and bread bakery goods, has taken advantage of its strong balance sheet to double capital investment spend to over £6 million in the year ended 28 June 2014 to underpin future growth via new capacity and innovation whilst also improving productivity and competitiveness. Within the group’s UK Bakery division, cake capital investment projects successfully completed in the year include the new single serve cake slice ‘snap pack’ line as well as the largest cake bites robotic picking installation in the world. The Nicolas and Harris speciality bread facility expansion, delivering 60% additional space, has also been successfully commissioned and is now fully operational.

John Duffy, chief executive of Finsbury Food Group, comments: “Our continued capital investment programme is heralding positive signs and we are encouraged by the contribution that this has made. Although cost inflation keeps margins under pressure, the strategies we have in place have mitigated against this and with more favourable profit dynamics; we are well placed to take advantage of the market as it improves.”

The Finsbury board expects to report full year profit up on the prior year and ahead of market expectations. Following the sale of the Free From business in February 2013, continuing full year group sales revenues for the year ended 28 June 2014 are £175.7 million, against £176.6 million in the previous year. Second half growth in the UK Bakery business reversed the first half decline and sales for the year were broadly flat at £153.7m. Sales in Lightbody Europe, the group’s 50% owned European business declined by 1.2% for the full year to £22.0 million, however this sales decline is accompanied by a favourable profit dynamic with a shift to higher margin business.