Meat producer Cranswick (CWK) reported record sales of £1.2bn last year, due in part to the acquisitions of poultry business Crown Chicken and pork processor Dunbia Ballymena. But even excluding contributions from the new business, like-for-like revenue was still 12.7 per cent ahead of last year, and volumes increased by 15 per cent. A record £47m of capital expenditure looked to foster organic growth, with investment across the business - particularly to make the cooked meats division more efficient.
The group put through price increases on its pork products to help offset the 34 per cent increase in pig prices over the year, as European pig meat has become more expensive on the back of demand from China. Foreign markets proved popular as revenues from exports were up 38.4 per cent, driven by demand from the Far East.
Analysts at Shore Capital expect pre-tax profits of £81.5m in the year to March 2018, with EPS of 131p, up from £75.5m and 121p in FY2017.
| CRANSWICK (CWK) | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ORD PRICE: | 2,866p | MARKET VALUE: | £1.45bn | |
| TOUCH: | 2,862-2,867 | 12-MONTH HIGH: | 2,899p | LOW: 1,951p |
| DIVIDEND YIELD: | 1.5% | PE RATIO: | 21 | |
| NET ASSET VALUE: | 834p* | NET DEBT: | 2.61% | |
| Year to 31 Mar | Turnover (£bn) | Pre-tax profit (£m) | Earnings per share (p) | Dividend per share (p) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 0.88 | 47.3 | 74.9 | 30.0 |
| 2014 | 0.99 | 54.8 | 88.7 | 32.0 |
| 2015 | 1.00 | 52.8 | 84.1 | 34.0 |
| 2016 | 1.02 | 62.1 | 91.5 | 37.5 |
| 2017 | 1.25 | 77.5 | 133.8 | 44.1 |
| % change | +23 | +25 | +46 | +18 |
Ex-div: 29 Jun Payment: 1 Sep *Includes intangible assets of £159m, or 314p a share | ||||
