Rising pork and bacon sales has buoyed half-year profits at UK meat processor Cranswick.
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The company booked a 5% rise in underlying pre-tax profits to GBP18.5m (US$27.8m) for the six months to 30 September.
Turnover was up 9% to GBP321.2m as Cranswick’s food business, which accounts of over 90% of the company’s revenue, saw sales also climb 9%.
Cranswick said the rising food revenue included the impact of inflation as it looked to pass on higher raw material costs.
However, the company reported “notable increases” in sales of pork, which rose 10% and bacon, which jumped 24%. Cooked meats and sausage sales both rose by 8% increase by 7%, continental products were up 7%, while sandwich sales climbed 24%.
Chairman Martin Davey said: “There was success in growing the range of products supplied into our customer base across the categories of premium, standard plus, standard and ‘value’.”
Davey added that Cranswick was seeing signs that the rising costs the company has tackled in the last year had peaked.
“Whilst enormous cost pressures have been experienced, and dealt with, over the past year the signs are that this inflationary element has peaked,” Davey said. “The company is strongly cash generative and has proven management teams across the group in which the board has full confidence to continue Cranswick’s successful development.”
