Biscuit manufacturer Fox’s Burton’s saw revenues rise and margins improve last year as it reaped the benefits of being an enlarged group.
The maker of Jammie Dodgers, Wagon Wheels, and Party Rings said sales grew 7% to £638m in the 53 weeks to 31 August.
Gross profit margin also rose from 14.5% to 20.5%, “reflecting the strength and improved profitability from bringing Fox’s and Burton’s together, and successful recovery of new pricing”, the company added.
Fox’s Biscuits and Burton’s Biscuits merged in early 2022 after both being acquired by Ferrero.
The new business completed the final steps of its restructure last year, with the merger of the two legal entities to reduce complexity and cut some of the compliance costs within the group.
This came at a £2.5m one-off exceptional cost, the business said, alongside £2.1m spent on a new enterprise resource planning (ERP) system.
Its profitability is now on the up, with earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation rising to £40.2m, up from a £17.2m loss the year before.
Overall, it’s pre-tax losses were trimmed to £6.4m from £21.6m the year before.
Fox’s Burton’s is now the second-biggest biscuit brand in the UK behind McVitie’s, according to The Grocer’s Top Products survey. It is extremely concentrated in the UK from where it derives over 90% of its sales, its accounts show.
The cost of living crisis saw budget-conscious shoppers swap out branded biscuits for cheaper alternatives, but brands saw a return last year as volumes grow 2.2%. Own-label volumes fell back 1.4%.
“Own label has lost volume share largely due to a lack of innovation when compared to leading branded manufacturers,” said Arturo Caballero, NIQ analytics executive.
Fox’s Burton’s could not be reached for comment.
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