Bargain hunters hurt Finsbury Food
1 min read
In an update on trading today (29 July), the manufacturer of cake, bread and morning goods, and gluten free bakery products, reported that trading continued to be affected by consumers seeking better value through trading down and more frequently choosing products on promotion. This led to a decrease in revenue for the financial year to 30 June of 4.1% to £168.3m, with strong bread and 'free from' sales partially offsetting the decline in Finsbury's larger cake division.
Finsbury Food Group saw sales decline last year while customers moved to seek out bargains in the light of tougher economic times.
Bread and Free From Division sales grew 9.3%, boosted by the successful national roll out of the Genius Free From fresh bread brand. The prior year's acquisition of Goswells speciality breads, including the Vogel brand, drove growth to 16.5% including the acquisition.
Sales in the Cake Division were down 9.7% compared with the previous year. In addition to Finsbury's decision to exit specific low margin business coupled with our bias towards premium and healthier cakes – which have been particularly affected – the overall cake market also declined.
Chief Executive John Duffy said: "As a premium craft baker in a challenging trading environment, we have continued to invest in our branded innovation led growth opportunities whilst also improving our internal efficiency, talent and competitiveness.
"We have performed in line with management expectations and when we emerge from this recession we will be competitively stronger and better positioned for growth as consumers seek higher quality products that taste great."
