Strong food-to-go sales helped Greencore to grow its full-year profits by 44.5% to £1.16 billion in the year ending 28 September.
Sales of Greencore’s food-to-go range were up 9.8% - well above the 5.4% market growth identified by research company Nielsen. The firm supplies sandwiches to UK stores such as Marks & Spencer and Asda.
Operating profit before exceptional items and acquisition-related amortisation increased by 37% to £70.7 million.
Greencore was boosted by the acquisition of new customers such as Waitrose and Aldi as well as stronger sales of private-label food products.
Patrick Coveney, Greencore's chief executive described the performance as a “breakthrough year”.
“Over the course of the year, we would have seen private label outperform brands. That is beginning to unwind in the second half of 2012, when we have seen branded manufacturers respond with more promotions,” he said.
However, Coveney painted a bleak picture of the market in the run-up to Christmas: “We are seeing more pressure on volumes than would have been the case a year ago, more weak consumer confidence… So we are more concerned about the overall environment than we were a year ago.”
