Bright outlook for Finsbury Food, reinstates dividend

Finsbury Food, the cake and bread maker reported a sharp rise in half year profit and said the outlook for the group is stronger than ever.

Pre-tax profit jumped 32.8% to £3.0m for the six months ended December 31 from £2.2m the year before. Group revenue for the period rose 1% to £103.3m.

Sales in the UK Cake division rose 2% to £67.8m and sales in the Bread division gained 7% to £27.4m. The group sold its free from business for £21m in February.

Chief Executive John Duffy said: "The group has proved its resilience and continued to drive growth, productivity and efficiencies in what remains a difficult trading environment."

"The outlook for Finsbury is now stronger than ever. The sale of the Free From business has transformed the group's balance sheet, giving us the opportunity to catalyse our stated strategy and accelerate further growth through investment and market consolidation whilst reinstating the dividend."

Net debt was reduced by 27% to £27.4m and a dividend payment of 0.25p per share has been reinstated.

"We will continue to build upon the foundations we have created, and look forward to the next stages of the company's development with the ultimate goal of driving value for our shareholders," Finsbury added.

CJ