FDBusiness.com

Buoyed by the acquisition of Uniq, UK and Irish convenience foods group Greencore has increased revenue by 49.9% to £567.7 million and group operating profit by 36.7% to £31.7 million for the 26 weeks ended 30 March 2012. Revenue from continuing activity rose by 9.3% with the Convenience Foods division ahead by 9.7%. However, group operating margin slipped by 50bps to 5.6%, resulting from the incorporation of Uniq.

“Our business has performed strongly in the first half of 2012. The acquisition of  Uniq last year has reshaped our group and we are on track to deliver all of the targeted integration benefits,” comments Patrick Coveney, chief executive of Greencore.

Greencore has also made further progress in the US with the acquisition of MarketFare Foods. “This acquisition represents the next step in building a business of real scale in theUSand strengthens our position in the food to go/convenience store channel,” he adds.

Patrick Coveney does not expect to see any material improvement in the trading environment in the UK in the second half and has yet to see a material easing in inflationary pressure. “Notwithstanding these pressures, we continue to target good underlying revenue growth and strong growth in adjusted earnings per share,” he says