Profits at McVitie’s owner Pladis are under increasing pressure as the snacking powerhouse battles cost inflation, a lack of disposable household income, the advance of private label and rapid consumer adoption of weight-loss drugs.
EBITDA slipped 4% year on year to £473.7m at the group in 2025, driven by currency headwinds and the strengthening of sterling versus the Turkish lira.
Higher restructuring costs of £51m, compared with £31m in 2024, which included redundancy payments and an impairment in the European business, pushed operating profits down 12% to £301.6m. And pre-tax profits sank by 73% to £48.7m after accounting for growing finance costs for the group’s borrowings.
Net debt also climbed 14% to just more than £1bn at the year end as Pladis refinanced loan agreements with banking partners.
“Pladis delivered a resilient performance in 2025, growing revenue to £3.3bn [up 1.2% year on year] and maintaining market-leading positions in the UK, Türkiye, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and elsewhere,” CFO Sridhar Ramamurthy said.
“This reflects the enduring strength of our branded portfolio and the focus and commitment of our teams around the world. It was achieved in a year that tested every part of the food industry – from commodity inflation and currency volatility to broader macroeconomic headwinds.”
Pladis invested £100.5m in capital expenditure during 2025 to strengthen capacity, productivity and efficiency across its operations, which included the closing stages of a £68m investment programme in the UK bakeries.
Since the year end, Pladis has stepped up its Chinese ambitions as part of a strategy to build McVitie’s, which celebrated the centenary for its Chocolate Digestives in 2025, into a £1bn global brand.
“Our private, family-owned structure gives us the freedom to take a long-term view, beyond the reporting cycle,” Ramamurthy added. “That perspective shapes how we invest in the business: in 2025, we invested £100m in capital expenditure to support efficiency, capacity and resilience, while continuing to innovate across our priority brands.
“We are building from a strong commercial platform and our priorities remain clear: to keep building our brands, bring innovation to scale, accelerate digitalisation and manage cost, cash and capital with rigour. That combination of long-term investment and financial discipline is central to strengthening our competitiveness and creating value over time so that we can continue bringing happiness with every bite.”
The rise of GLP-1s and shifting consumer attitudes to health and wellness is piling further pressure on Pladis. In response, the group has invested in reformulation to reduce salt and sugar, and is adding more whole grains, ancient grains and fibre to products. It aims to double volumes of ‘better for me’ products from a 2023 baseline by 2030.
Pladis operates in more than 110 countries and makes the likes of McVitie’s, Jacob’s, Carr’s, McVitie’s Jaffa Cakes, Mini Cheddars, Go Ahead, Twiglets and Penguin. The UK makes up around a third of overall revenues.
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