Finsbury overcomes egg scare

The group, which manufactures cakes, bread and morning goods, was announcing its results for the six months ended 1 January which saw revenue up 6% to £87.8 million (H1 2010: £82.9 million) and pre-tax profit up 3% to £1.9 million (H1 2010: £1.8 million). Sales in the cake, bread and 'free-from' divisions were all up. On the egg scare, Finsbury said: "Although the products were safe to consume, retailers removed cakes from shelves as a precautionary measure. The fact that there was no public health risk, has led our insurer to deny recovery of any associated withdrawal costs. We continue to work with retailers and the egg supplier to resolve the issue and address the recovery of costs required." Commenting on the results, chief executive John Duffy said: "We have seen strong growth in Bread and Free From and perhaps more encouragingly, the return to growth of our cake division. Although we are adopting a cautious approach with the trading environment as it is, we look forward to exploiting the growth opportunities available to us in both the Bread and Free From market, and also the Cake market, in the coming year. "We continue to drive the business forward through what have been difficult markets, and lay the foundations in preparation for a more positive trading environment, which we are confident will arrive over time."