Greencore has raised its profits outlook for the second time in three months to close out a transformational year for the food-to-go operator.
CEO Dalton Philips said the integration of Bakkavor continued to “make strides” as the group increased revenues 4.5% to £1bn in its fourth quarter to 25 September.
Volume growth accelerated to a market-beating 2.1% in the period, with chilled categories including salads, dips, quiche and sandwiches performing strongly. Both the legacy Greencore and Bakkavor businesses outperformed the market during the quarter, bringing a strong year to a close. Group volumes for the year are up 1.1%, compared with 0.5% for the wider market.
Higher volumes and margin improvement helped maintain momentum in underlying profits, leading Greencore to upgrade expectations for the year once again.
It now expects to report about £248m of adjusted operating profit for the year, 4% ahead of the current market consensus of £238m.
Greencore previously raised its profit guidance for FY26 when reporting a Q3 trading update in July.
“Greencore has had a monumental year, and we finished it with a strong performance in Q4,” Philips said. “We grew volume ahead of the market, drove strong profit growth and we continue to make strides in our integration with Bakkavor. That performance means we are in a position to further upgrade our full-year guidance.
“I’m really proud of how our teams have delivered for our customers, in what was a busy year with the acquisition and integration. I would like to thank every Greencore colleague for the commitment and passion they bring each and every day.
“We have real momentum in our business and Greencore has never been in a stronger place. Customers want to do more with us and we are seeing encouraging progress from cross-selling categories across our expanded customer base.”
Greencore’s innovation pipeline remained a core driver of its growth during the year, with 167 new products launched in Q4, including two ranges of premium Italian ready meals, summer-focused grab-and-go sandwiches and salads and limited-edition diner-style mac & cheese.
Synergies from the combination with Bakkavor continued to progress “strongly”, with a fast start on central re-organisation, procurement and distribution synergies.
Greencore completed the £1.2bn merger with Bakkavor in January to create a group with more than £4bn in annual revenues.
The group continues to progress the sale of the US Bakkavor business, which is trading “positively and in line with expectations”.
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