Birds Eye’s turnover and operating profits have fallen, as shoppers return to “savvy tactics” learned in the cost of living crisis to seek out value for money.
Revenues at the historic frozen food company fell to £815.2m in the year to 31 December 2024, down 2.6% on a solid set of 2023 results.
The £21.4m drop in revenues hit the company’s operating margin, which decreased to 13.3% from 14.3% – though remained significantly above pre-pandemic levels, when it was consistently below 5%. Operating profit fell to £108.8m.
Birds Eye’s fall in revenue showed the challenges of trading in a competitive category, with shoppers buying smaller amounts and less frequently, reducing their overall grocery spend, shopping with discounters or swapping to own-label products, according to finance director Stacey Goff’s statement accompanying the accounts.
Overall, the frozen category fell from 15% value growth in 2023 to just 1.6% as shoppers balked at the previous year’s price rises. Volumes fell 0.1% in 2024, according to Kantar data [Kantar 52 w/e 29 December 2024].
However, Birds Eye said it outperformed the category by recording year-on-year volume growth, a performance that “reflects resilience in a challenging market environment”, according to a spokesman for the business.
“While food input prices improved against the historical high levels of 2023, shoppers have remained cautious, and we continue to see shoppers unable to revert to pre-inflationary behaviour,” said Goff.
Birds Eye was also hit by logistical trouble in the implementation of ERP software in August 2024.
Causing “significant business disruption and supply challenges”, the chaos forced Birds Eye to cut promotional activity for some of its product lines to keep shelves stocked. Supply “improved towards the end of the year”, Goff reported.
The Birds Eye spokesman added: “This was a significant transformation project aimed at future-proofing our operations.
“As with any major systems change, there were transitional challenges, but we’re proud of how our teams navigated them. We’re now focused on driving efficiencies and long-term growth.”
While the company’s financial performance was weaker than 2023, Birds Eye made continued progress against environmental targets.
While it did not manage to reduce its in-house (Scope 1 and 2) emissions, the company cut Scope 3 emissions by 8,800 tonnes of CO2 equivalent – a 21.7% drop. By the end of 2024, it had reduced its greenhouse gas emissions intensity by 37.4% compared to a 2019 baseline.
The company aims to reach a 45% reduction in carbon intensity by 2025.
In September 2025, Birds Eye announced updated near-term and 2050 net zero targets to align with a 1.5°C warming goal, validated by the Science-Based Targets Initiative.
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