UK pork company Cranswick ups sales, lowers debt in 2014

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  Andrea Gantz

  U.K. pork and food company Cranswick reported an increase in sales and a decrease in debt during fiscal year 2014.

  From WATTAgNet:
  U.K. pork and food company Cranswick concluded its 2014 fiscal year with an increase in sales. The company reported sales rose 1 percent when compared to fiscal year 2013, with much of that strength coming from the fourth quarter, when the company’s sales increased four percent.
  The strong sales performance occurred as export sales to markets outside of Europe continued to grow.
  The company also reported that its net debt at the end of the fourth quarter was lower than its net debt at the end of the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2013 and the third quarter of fiscal year 2014.
  “The board expects to report a trading performance for the year ended March 31, 2015 in line with its expectations. With experienced management at all levels of the group, a strong range of products, a well-invested asset base and a robust financial position, the board remains confident in the continued long-term success and development of the business,” Cranswick stated.
  The company also reported an investment of GBP25 million (US$35.6 million) in its infrastructure during the fiscal year, which generated further operational efficiencies. Other major changes experienced by Cranswick during the fiscal year included the extension of its Milton Keynes cooked meats facility and an upgrade to the chilling system at its Norfolk primary processing facility. Both changes have resulted in increased efficiencies.
  Cranswick also diversified in October 2014 with the purchase of cooked poultry business Benson Park. “The integration of Benson Park is progressing as anticipated and the positive performance of the business continues to be in line with the board’s expectation,” the company stated.

British pork checkoff agency to change name to AHDB Pigs

Britain’s version of a pork checkoff agency will have a new name, effective the middle of 2015.
Known currently as BPEX from its roots as the British Pig Executive, it is the division of the national Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) that focuses on enhancing the competitiveness, efficiency and profitability of pig levy payers in England and driving demand for British pork both within the UK and internationally. 
An announcement from the AHDB headquarters has revealed that each of the operating divisions will be rebranded in 2015 under the AHDB name. From mid-2015 this means that the BPEX brand will disappear as the agency adopts its new name of AHDB Pigs.
Other agencies will also undergo name changes. Under the branding changes, DairyCo becomes AHDB Dairy, EBLEX becomes AHDB Beef & Lamb, HDC becomes AHDB Horticulture, HGCA becomes AHDB Cereals & Oilseeds and Potato Council becomes AHDB Potatoes.
AHDB Chairman Peter Kendall said: “This is an important step forward for AHDB as we move towards our aim of looking, feeling and behaving as one organization.
“Coming together under one simplified brand can help AHDB increase our influence on behalf of our levy payers. This will ensure we are in a better position to make the most of future industry opportunities.”

British pork sales decline 4 percent March-May 2014

British shoppers’ spending on pork was down 4 percent from March to May when compared to the same period during 2013, according to the latest Kantar Worldpanel data. The fall in sales was driven by declining expenditure on chops/steaks and leg roasting joints.
Despite lower prices for these cuts, this did not translate into greater purchasing as volume sales also suffered, most notably on leg roasting joints, where sales fell by just over 20 percent, according to the British Pig Executive (BPEX). Leg roasting joints, however, were also subjected to a decline in promotional activity toward some consumers, particularly those shopping with the hard discounters, switching to chops/steaks. Despite these switching gains, volume sales of chops/steaks also fell. The one sector that continues to perform well is mince, which according to BPEX enjoyed volume growth 20 percent when compared to the same period a year ago.
Spending on sausages was up 2 percent over the latest period, compared to a year ago. While growth came from all categories, standard sausages contributed some two thirds of the actual growth in value sales. The growth in the standard tier was driven by increased prices across most retailers, which did not impact on volume performance. Expenditure on bacon was flat year-on-year, with a 3 percent drop in volume sales being offset by an equal increase in prices. Shopper spending on ham was up 6 percent, driven in the main by increased volume sales in the discounters, where prices were down some 5 percent when compared to the same three-month period of 2013.

Online sales of British pork growing

Online sales of pork in Great Britain have grown 21 percent in both value and volume, according to the latest figures produced for the British Pig Executive (BPEX). The Kantar Worldpanel data shows the price of pork has remained almost flat which has contributed to the large sales growth over the 52 weeks to the end of April.
There has been strong growth in cuts such as chops and steaks for grilling and frying, but this has been counterbalanced to some extent by a decline in roasting joints.
BPEX director Mick Sloyan said: “These are good results overall and show a small but growing market. Modern purchasers are purchasing in a modern way and it is good to see pork is part of that. It is also good to see above average growth from a number of retailers who are 100 percent British in their sourcing of fresh pork.”

Vion reaches buy-out agreement for UK pork operations

Dutch-based food producer Vion NV has reached an agreement for a management buy-out of its UK pork operations, securing around 4,000 jobs, subject to Competition Authority approval in Ireland.
The deal, led by Seamus Carr, managing director of Vion’s pork business unit, is backed by UK private equity firm Endless, and follows Vion’s November announcement that it was selling its UK food operations to focus on its core food activities in the Netherlands and Germany and its global ingredients business.
Vion’s UK pork facilities are located in Wiveliscombe, Malton, Haverhill, Scunthorpe, Hull, Stoke and Enfield in England, at Cookstown in Northern Ireland and the pig farming and feed mill operation in Scotland at Brydock, Aberdeenshire. In addition, Vion operates the McGees butchers business in the Republic of Ireland. “Vion’s decision to sell its UK business naturally caused a degree of uncertainty amongst staff, suppliers and customers,” said Carr, who will be managing director of the new company. “Therefore, I’m very pleased that we have quickly been able to agree a deal for the pork business which secures the future for our staff, our suppliers and gives our customers a seamless transition. Our ambitions for the new business are firstly to maintain the excellent levels of service and product quality which have helped us secure orders from all the major supermarkets, and then to build upon the opportunities in the marketplace to grow the business.”
Peter Barr, chairman of Vion UK, said he welcomed the management buy-out. “When we announced our intention to sell, we highlighted the viability of the UK businesses and the strong interest from prospective purchasers,” said Barr. “The swiftness with which we’ve been able to agree a deal with the management team of the pork business unit, which knows the company inside-out, underlines our confidence in the sales process. It’s therefore very encouraging that the pork business unit should be the subject of a successful and swift sale and this augurs well for our ongoing discussions with prospective buyers of the remaining areas of the business.”
Vion said it will now be focusing its attentions on securing the sales of its remaining poultry and red meat operations in the UK, which employ around 8,000 people. “Both businesses remain profitable and cash-generative and are generating significant interest from prospective purchaser,” said Barr.

UK pork expands to new Netherlands market

British pork is now being sold in the largest supermarket chain in the Netherlands.
The retailer has launched three new lines including shoulder steaks, fillet and loin chops, complete with a high welfare sticker and a prominent description of product origin and rearing methods. The pork is marketed as a product with high welfare and taste in the retailer’s premium range.
“This is excellent news and recognizes the high standards of the British pork sector," said British Pig Executive Export Manager Jean-Pierre Garnier. “This is a rather prestigious accolade, particularly as it positions our product between the supermarket’s own animal welfare standards and organic pork. There is a good untapped demand from Dutch consumers for high welfare and sustainable meat, and we hope that we will generate good sales from now on.”

Quality Meat Scotland pork campaign targets 3 million consumers

Quality Meat Scotland has refreshed its “Look for the Label” campaign to support the consumption of Specially Selected Pork in Scotland with a new promotion drive estimated to reach 2,849,000 consumers, according to Laurent Vernet, head of marketing at Quality Meat Scotland.
The campaign will feature outdoor, online and press advertising, as well as in-store promotions with key Scottish multiples. “The refreshed campaign aims to communicate the benefits of purchasing Specially Selected Pork and provides compelling reasons to look for the label at the point of purchase," said Vernet. “For example, the advertisements highlight the association with the Scottish SPCA, Scotland’s national animal welfare charity, whose inspectors visit Scottish pig farms and processors under the QMS quality assurance scheme to ensure the strict animal health and welfare standards which underpin the label." 

UK pork imports increased 1% in 2010

The UK imported a total of 362,800 tons of fresh and frozen pork in 2010, 1% higher than in 2009, according to a report from the British Pig Executive.
Denmark supplied 27% of the UK’s pork, with the Netherlands providing 18%. Belgium, Germany and Ireland all supplied 13% and Poland provided just 730 tons, considerably lower than the 1,480 tons it exported to the UK in 2009 and 4,583 tons in 2008.

UK Pig farmers face negative margins as sow herds set to fall in 2011

The average producer of finishing pigs in Britain at present is losing around UK£18 (US$29.96) per pig sent to market, despite a slight easing of production costs during March and April 2011 to around UK£1.60 (US$2.66) per kilogram carcass weight.

The size of the British pig breeding herd may slip below 418,000 sows (from 2007's 436,000 sows), causing pig producers to face a further period of negative margins, according to market analysts at the latest Outlook conference of the Agricultural and Horticultural Development Board.
UK sow numbers have already been hit by a 15% increase in slaughtering of sows in the first three months of 2011, although this had been expected after more gilts were added as breeding herd candidates in 2010. The debate among observers is whether extra productivity will allow pork supplies to be maintained, even with a projected decline in the population of sows in 2011.
The average producer of finishing pigs in Britain at present is losing around UK£18 (US$29.96) per pig sent to market, despite a slight easing of production costs during March and April 2011 to around UK£1.60 (US$2.66) per kilogram carcass weight. This follows annual averages of -UK£11 (US$-18.31) per pig in 2007 and -UK£8 (US$13.31) per pig in 2008, although there was a short-lived recovery to a profit of UK£11 (US$18.31) per pig in 2009 before negative margins returned with higher feed costs towards the end of 2010.
Calculations by the British Pig Executive showed losses averaging UK£22 (US$36.61) per pig in January 2011, rising to UK£25 (US$41.61) in February and UK£26 (US$43.27) in March before easing slightly to an estimated UK£19 (US$31.62) in April and UK£18 (US$29.96) in May.
On the basis of new forecasts for feed grain supplies and prices, industry representatives now think that production costs will not drop until at least the last quarter of 2011, while the average pig price paid to producers shows little sign of giving them a profit.

British pig farmers launch 'buy local' pork campaign

British pig farmers, currently making losses because of the high cost of pig feed, have stepped up to help launch a national advertising campaign to get British citizens to buy home-grown pork.
Roadside fields are being used to display signs in support of buying British pork, and so far more than 270 banners have gone up on farms around the country. “Many shoppers are already pretty loyal when it comes to choosing British pork, because they know it is higher quality," said pig farmer Richard Lister. "The aim of this campaign is to persuade shoppers to make an extra effort to choose British rather than anonymous lower-welfare imported pork."
Pig farmers are planning a March 3 Westminster rally to raise awareness among the government and to ask supermarkets to pay them a fair price. “We need supermarkets to pay pig farmers enough to cover the cost of producing high-welfare British pork," said Lister. "At the moment, supermarkets and most processors are making large profits — but pig farmers are losing around £20 on every pig they sell.”

UK animal feed production up 4.9% in November 2010

According to the latest report from the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, animal feed production in the United Kingdom was up by 4.9% in November 2010 compared to the same time period in 2009.
The total of all feed produced in November 2010 came to 818,200 metric tons, up 5.1% from October 2010 and 4.9% over November 2009 numbers. Of the various feeds, sheep feed boasted the highest growth over 2009, increasing by 14.2% in November 2010 to 41,600 metric tons. Poultry and pig feeds also saw significant growth in November 2010 compared to November 2009, at 9.7% (to 255,200 metric tons) and 5.8% (to 121,500 metric tons), respectively.
A breakdown of poultry feed in particular saw growth in all areas, with turkey feed seeing the highest growth — 11.2% (to 55,000 metric tons) in November 2010 over the same time period the previous year.

UK pork sales continue rising

Pork is firmly fixed as a family favourite in the UK with sales continuing to rise, according to new figures published by the British Pig Executive (BPEX).
During August the total meat market rose by 1%, while sales of fresh pork saw a rise of 11%. Meanwhile, the latest 52-week figures from consumer research concern Kantar Worldpanel showed that the market had risen by 2% and pork was 5% better.
BPEX head of marketing Chris Lamb said: "That means an extra £19 million worth of pork has been sold over the past year out of a total of £860 million.
"I believe there are two main reasons for this. The first is a reaction to the recession as more and more families are now cooking from scratch at home, and they are choosing to use pork.”

UK academy for new pig producers

A British pig producer, BQP, is establishing a Fresh Start Academy to help recruit new workers into the industry in an effort to meet growing demand for British pork from high-welfare farms.
It is using the UK government-sponsored Fresh Start programme, established to secure a sustainable future for farming, to form the new academy, which will act as a match-maker between would-be pig-keepers and established farmers, helping them set up new pig units in the east of England to supply premium pork to leading supermarkets.
The academy will be based in Louth, Lincolnshire — a hill and marsh area that is now predominantly arable, with buildings suitable for growing pigs to slaughterweight, using local straw for bedding – and it is expected to open on November 30.