Convenience food manufacturer Greencore has today upgraded its full year outlook on the back of its "continued robust financial and opererational performance".
The Dublin headquartered company said it now expects full year adjusted operating profit to be in a range of £88-90m, ahead of its previous guidance of £86-£88m and ahead of current market expectations.
In a trading update for the 13 weeks to June 28, Greencore said its third quarter reported revenue decreased by 6.1% to £465.2m, reflecting the impact of the exit by Greencore of a number of low margin contracts and the disposal of the Trilby Trading business.
But on a like-for- like basis, third quarter revenues increased 1.4% year on year.
Reported quarterly revenue in its Food to Go categories decreased 1.5% to £330.2m, but rose by 2.4% on a like-for-like basis, while reported revenue in its Other Convenience categories was £135m, a 15.7% decrease year on year and a 1.1% fall on a like-for-like basis.
Greencore, which is the biggest pre-packed sandwich maker in the UK, said it saw a broadly flat like-for-like performance in the category compared to an overall market decline of 1%.
It said this was in addition to a positive performance across other key categories including chilled ready meals, and cooking sauce. The sushi category also experienced volume growth in the quarter, however it said its salads category was more challenged.
Greencore said it generated strong underlying free cash during the quarter, adding that its previously announced £30m share buyback is ongoing and progressing well.
As part of the previously announced £50m return to shareholders, it said it also intends to declare a dividend for the year to September 2024.
"Q3 represents another excellent performance by the business against a tough comparative period. Our continued progress has been delivered through ongoing impactful operational and commercial initiatives, which we are continuing to implement at pace, supporting the improved profit conversion in the quarter," Greencore's chief executive Dalton Philips said.
"While Q4 remains a seasonally important trading period, our continued strong profit conversion performance means we now expect to deliver a full year adjusted operating profit of £88-90m, ahead of previous guidance and market expectations," he added.
