Significant improvement in year on year profitability; full year guidance unchanged; intention to recommence value return of up to £50m over next two years
Greencore Group plc (‘Greencore’ or the ‘Group’), a leading manufacturer of convenience food in the UK, today issues its results for the 26 weeks ended 25 March 2022.
PERFORMANCE 1
- Group Revenue up 33.6% to £770.8m, driven by strong growth in food to go and other convenience categories
- Pro forma revenue in food to go categories increased by 48.0% year on year and was approximately 8% above equivalent pre-COVID levels in H1 19
- Adjusted Operating Profit of £17.2m (H1 21: £0.2m), with Adjusted Operating Margin of 2.2% (H1 21: 0.0%)
- Adjusted EPS of 1.8p (H1 21: Adjusted Loss of 1.4p)
- Net Debt (excluding lease liabilities) of £219.3m at 25 March 2022, with 12-month free cashflow conversion of 71%. Net Debt: EBITDA of 2.1x as measured under financing agreements, in line with end FY21 levels, with substantial undrawn headroom on debt facilities
- Group ROIC of 6.3%, compared to 4.5% at the end of FY21 and (0.6)% at H1 21
- Intention to recommence value return of up to £50m over the next two years, initially in the form of a share buyback programme and consistent with the Group’s capital management policy
STRATEGIC DEVELOPMENTS 1
- Continued to onboard new business wins effectively in H1 22, expanding its product ranges and channel reach, with revenue from these wins representing just over one-third of the Group’s pro forma revenue growth in the period
- Strategic capital investment programme of approximately £30m to support the delivery of previously announced business wins has proceeded to plan and is expected to complete in Q4 22
- Better Greencore, the Group’s profit improvement programme, was launched in H1
- Its first phase is targeted to deliver annual recurring benefits of approximately £30m in FY24
- The Group will invest a total of approximately £24m during FY22 and FY23 to unlock these improvements, some £8m of which was incurred as an exceptional cost in H1 22
- Further phases of the Better Greencore programme are being developed that will deliver additional benefits to the Group
- Continued progress on sustainability agenda in H1, with an ongoing focus on developing the necessary data and systems framework to measure performance effectively. The Group also introduced a new share ownership scheme for all colleagues
- On 13 May 2022 the Group announced the appointment of Dalton Philips as Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director. He will join the Group and the Board on 26 September 2022
OUTLOOK 1,2
- The Group is encouraged by the momentum in revenue and profit conversion in the first seven weeks of H2, in what continues to be a challenging environment and as the Group enters its period of peak seasonal trading
- The Group has now substantially recovered the significant input cost and other inflation incurred during Q1 and early Q2 through explicit price recovery mechanisms, constructive dialogue with customers, and operational efficiencies. The Group is fully committed to recovery of the additional inflationary challenges that have materialised since March 2022, and is progressing well in this regard. Profit conversion is also underpinned by its Better Greencore programme
- Though the inflationary environment remains volatile, the Group expects to generate an FY22 outturn in line with current market expectations
SUMMARY FINANCIAL PERFORMANCE 1
| H1 22 | H1 21 | Change | |
| £m | £m | ||
| Group Revenue | 770.8 | 577.1 | +33.6% |
| Pro Forma Revenue Growth | +34.9% | ||
| Adjusted EBITDA | 43.8 | 26.5 | +65.3% |
| Group Operating Profit | 7.2 | 3.9 | +84.6% |
| Adjusted Operating Profit | 17.2 | 0.2 | +£17.0m |
| Adjusted Operating Margin | 2.2% | 0.0% | +220bps |
| Group Profit/(Loss) Before Tax | 1.0 | (1.8) | |
| Adjusted Profit/(Loss) Before Tax | 11.7 | (7.9) | |
| Basic EPS (pence) | 0.2 | 0.0 | |
| Group Exceptional Items (after tax) | (6.5) | 9.9 | |
| Adjusted EPS (pence) | 1.8 | (1.4) | +3.2p |
| Interim dividend per share (pence) | – | – | |
| Free Cash Flow | (17.8) | (23.6) | £5.8m |
| Net Debt | 272.3 | 332.1 | £59.8m |
| Net Debt (excluding lease liabilities) | 219.3 | 271.3 | £52.0m |
| Net Debt:EBITDA as per financing agreements | 2.1x | 7.2x | |
| Return on Invested Capital (“ROIC”) | 6.3% | (0.6)% | |
Commenting on the results, Gary Kennedy, Executive Chair, said:
“We are very pleased to have delivered H1 revenues that are back above pre-Covid levels, which is a great achievement against a backdrop of mobility restrictions, supply challenges and emerging inflation. There has been encouraging momentum in revenue and profit conversion in the first seven weeks of H2, and we are confident in our ability to navigate our way through the current well-publicised macro challenges as we enter our peak seasonal trading period. Our strong market positions, close customer relationships and intense focus on efficiencies mean that we look to the future with optimism, and we expect to deliver a full year out-turn in line with market expectations.”
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