News

Robust first half performance, full year outlook in line with expectations

Robust trading performance and in a position of financial strength

• Strong revenue momentum; reported revenue up 10.3% to £1,010.2m, like-for-like revenue¹ up 9.2% on a constant currency basis to £1,000.2m
• Adjusted operating profit¹ of £42.5m, down 9.5%, (H1 2021 £47.0m); UK performance broadly in line with the prior period, while our international performance has been impacted by COVID-19 restrictions and inflation
• Leverage¹ maintained at 1.9 times within target range
• Basic earnings per share up 4.8% to 4.4p
• Free cash flow² of £91.2m, up £51.1m
• Interim dividend per share of 2.77p, up 5.0% on the prior period

Continuing progress, focused on successfully navigating macro uncertainties and inflationary headwinds

• UK revenue up by 7.9%, primarily led by price increases, with volume growth outperforming the FPF market
• Successfully executed pricing and cost actions, along with productivity improvements, to mitigate significant levels of inflation and largely protected profitability in the UK
• Strong demand driving significant momentum in the US with like-for-like revenue up 34.6%, albeit a lag in inflation recovery and operational disruption from onboarding new business has held back margin
• China was severely impacted by COVID-19 restrictions from March, and whilst the environment remains uncertain, we are encouraged by the early signs of volume recovery
• Meaningful progress made within our Trusted Partner strategy; focus on building data to measure performance effectively and developing our roadmap to reach net zero by 2040

Full year outlook remains in line with market expectations²

• Revenue momentum has continued through July and August, with full year revenue expected to be in line with the upper end of market expectations²
• In the UK, our broad portfolio of products across categories and competitive price points positions us well to cater to consumers changing needs. We are confident of ongoing gains in our share of the FPF market, underpinned by a strong pipeline of launches
• In the US, sustained demand supports the continuation of our strong growth trajectory. We expect to see some margin improvement in H2 2022 as price recovery and efficiency improvements take effect
• In China, the government’s zero-tolerance COVID-19 policy means the near-term outlook remains uncertain, but we are working closely with customers to drive growth in our categories as the market recovers
• We remain confident in delivering adjusted operating profit within the range of market expectations² for 2022, as we continue to focus on managing costs, price recovery and driving performance
• While significant levels of inflation and consumer spending headwinds are expected to persist in 2023, we remain well-placed to capitalise on our attractive, medium to long term opportunity

FINANCIAL SUMMARY

1. Alternative performance measures are referred to as ‘like-for-like’, ‘adjusted’, ‘underlying’ and are applied consistently throughout this document. These are defined in full and reconciled to the reported statutory measures in Note 21. 
2. Based on company compiled consensus (“Consensus”) which includes the following institutions; Berenberg, Citi, Goodbody, HSBC, Investec, Kepler, Numis and Peel Hunt. Revenue consensus range of £1,991m to £2,089m, with consensus at £2,034m. Operating profit consensus range for 2022 of £89.9m to £95.0m, with consensus at £92.0m. Last updated on 6 September 2022.

AGUST GUDMUNDSSON, CEO, COMMENTED:

“Against a backdrop of macro uncertainties and inflationary headwinds, our operational delivery has been strong and we have continued to deliver for our customers. This, once again, demonstrates the continuing resilience of the Group, underpinned by the strength of our customer partnerships, supply chain management, scale and category leadership.

“We remain confident in our ability to deliver a full year performance in line with the range of market expectations as we continue to focus on managing costs, price recovery, and driving demand in our categories. The current geo-political uncertainty, however, will result in significant levels of inflation and consumer spending headwinds persisting through 2023.

“We remain well-placed to capitalise on our attractive, medium to long term opportunity, with strong foundations, an experienced team and the financial strength to enable targeted strategic investment to support growth, drive efficiency and deliver returns to shareholders.”

PRESENTATION

A copy of these results are available on www.bakkavor.com

We will be presenting to analysts via a webcast at 09.00 am, 7 September 2022, through the Investor section of the Group's website at:  https://q4-emea.wavecast.io/bakkavor-earnings/half-year. The presentation can also be accessed via a replay service shortly after the presentation has concluded.

ENQUIRIES

About Bakkavor

We are the leading provider of fresh prepared food (“FPF”) in the UK, and our presence in the US and China positions the Group well in these high-growth markets. We leverage our consumer insight and scale to provide innovative food that offers quality, choice, convenience, and freshness. Our c.19,000 colleagues operate from 46 sites across our three markets supplying a portfolio of over 3,200 products across meals, pizza & bread, salads and desserts to leading grocery retailers in the UK and US, and international food brands in China. Find out more at www.bakkavor.com and see our investor fact sheet here: Bakkavor-Group-PLC-Fact-Sheet-July-2022.pdf (q4cdn.com).

LEI number: 213800COL7AD54YU9949

Disclaimer - forward-looking statements

This statement, prepared by Bakkavor, may contain forward-looking statements about Bakkavor. These represent expectations for the Group's business, and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the Group's control. The Group has based these forward‐ looking statements on current expectations and projections about future events. These forward-looking statements may generally, but not always, be identified by the use of words such as 'will', 'aims', 'anticipates', 'continue', 'could', 'should', 'expects', 'is expected to', 'may', 'estimates', 'believes', 'intends', 'projects', 'targets', or the negative thereof, or similar expressions.

By their nature, forward-looking statements involve risk and uncertainty because they relate to events and depend on circumstances that may or may not occur in the future and reflect the Group's current expectations and assumptions as to such future events and circumstances that may not prove accurate. A number of material factors could cause actual results and developments to differ materially from those expressed or implied by forward-looking statements. There may be risks and uncertainties that the Group is unable to predict at this time or that the Group currently does not expect to have a material adverse effect on its business. You should not place undue reliance on any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date of this announcement. The Group expressly disclaims any obligation to publicly update or review these forward-looking statements other than as required by law. Some numbers and period on period percentages in this statement have been rounded or adjusted in order to ensure consistency with the financial information.