Finsbury Food Group serves up increase in revenue and profit

LONDON (ShareCast) - (ShareCast News) - Bakery products manufacturer Finsbury Food Group saw its annual pre-tax profit and revenue boosted by the acquisition of bakery Fletchers Group. In the 12 months to 27 June, pre-tax profit grew 28.7% year-on-year to £8.5m, while the acquisition of Fletchers, which was completed in October last year, drove annual revenue up to £256.2m, 45.8% higher than in the corresponding period in 2014.

On a like-for-like basis, meanwhile, revenue rose 6.1% year-on-year, boosted by an increased market share in the company's UK cake business, while the group's food service division performed better than its competitors on the back of new product launches.

"The past year has truly been transformational," said group chief executive John Duffy.

"Building on our organic growth, the acquisitions in the period have diversified the group into new channels and widened our customer base.

"In concurrence, we have invested significantly in the business to ensure long term competitiveness." The company said it will pay a final dividend of 1.67p per share, taking its total dividend payout for the year to 2.50p, up from 1.00p in 2014.

Finsbury Food shares were down 1.89% to 99.58p at 1536 BST on Monday.