Revenue and profits up at meat processor Cranswick

Inflation and strong sales in the second half of 2022 pushed up revenue at major meat processor Cranswick by almost 15% during the last financial year.

Revenue increased by £315m to total £2.32bn for the 52 weeks ending 25 March 2023, according to the company’s annual report.

See also: Finished pigs back in profit and prices at new record highs

Looking at revenue by market type, 74% of the group’s revenue came from the retail sector, 7% from export, 14% from manufacturing, and 5% from the food service.

The company made a profit before tax of £139.5m, up from £129.9m during the previous financial year.

While profits were rising at Cranswick, losses were building on farm with many pig producers making significant losses.

According to AHDB figures, the average pig producer was losing:

• £52 a pig during the second quarter of 2022
• £23 a pig during the third quarter of 2022
• £17 a pig during the final quarter of 2022
• £1 a pig during the first quarter of 2023.

Cranswick employs more than 13,700 employees and operates from 22 facilities around the UK.

It also has an integrated supply chain which includes a 700,000-head pig herd, a poultry flock of 5.7 million birds, and a feed milling business.

Adam Couch, chief executive at Cranswick, said: “We have successfully navigated three years of unprecedented disruption and uncertainty, and now we have a much larger, more diverse and better equipped business, which is primed to deliver the next phase of growth.”

Mr Crouch added that the UK farming sector and wider food supply chains have faced enormous challenges, primarily resulting from the outbreak and escalation of the war in Ukraine.

Outlook

Cranswick’s chairman, Tim Smith, said the company had made a positive start to the current 2023-24 year.

“We have a strong balance sheet and comfortable financial headroom to support our ongoing capital investment programme, which underpins our ambitious growth plans,” he said.