FIF.L Regulatory News (FIF)

Finsbury Food Group Plc

Pre-Close Trading Update

Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF), a leading UK speciality bakery manufacturer of cake, bread and morning goods for both the retail and foodservice channels, is today providing an update on trading for the full financial year, ending 26 June 2021, prior to entering its close period ahead of the preliminary announcement on 20 September 2021.

The Group delivered a strong second half performance, as outlined in the Group's 26 May 2021 trading update, with H2 revenues up 9.1% against the corresponding period in the prior year despite further Covid unlocking delays. This strong performance has resulted in revenues for the year increasing 2.3% to £313.3m (2020: £306.3m), which is almost at pre-pandemic levels (FY19: £315.3m).

Revenue in the Group's core division, UK Bakery, increased 0.8% for the full year, driven by a strong second half with H2 revenues up 6.8% versus the prior year. The recovery of the Group's foodservice business has continued although slower than expected due to ongoing Covid restrictions.

The Group's Overseas division delivered an extremely positive performance in the second half versus the corresponding period in the prior year, which was negatively impacted by earlier implementations of Covid lockdowns across Europe. This, combined with an earlier recovery than in the UK, resulted in revenues in H2 2021 increasing 27.4% versus H2 2020. Overseas revenues for the full year were up 13.4% against the prior year.

The Group's Operating Brilliance Programme continued to drive improvements in cost and cash performance with a significant strengthening of the Group's net bank debt position by year end to £13.1m, a reduction of £8.4m from 26 December 2020.

John Duffy, Chief Executive of Finsbury Food Group Plc, said:

"It is testament to the hard work and commitment of our teams that we have been able to successfully manage and adapt the business under challenging circumstances, resulting in year-on-year revenue growth and a total sales figure almost at pre-pandemic levels.

Our Retail business performed very well and while our foodservice business has continued to be impacted by Covid-related restrictions, the performance of the division has continued to improve on a quarter-by-quarter basis since the outset of the pandemic. We are pleased with the resilience the Group has shown.

Looking ahead, while the current operating environment continues to experience near-term uncertainty amidst challenging economic conditions, assuming trading conditions continue to normalise, we are confident in our ability to make further progress in the current financial year and in being able to deliver on our longer-term growth ambitions."

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Notes to editors:

· Finsbury Food Group Plc (AIM: FIF) is a leading UK manufacturer of cake and bread bakery goods, supplying a broad range of blue chip customers within both the grocery retail and 'out of home eating' foodservice sectors including major multiples and leading foodservice providers.

· The Company is one of the largest speciality bakery groups in the UK and, with its Overseas division, has sales in the financial year ending 27 June 2020 exceeding £306m.

· The Company's bakery product range is comprehensive and includes:

· Large premium and celebration cakes.

· Small snacking cake formats such as cake slices and bites.

· Artisan, healthy lifestyle and organic breads through to rolls, muffins (sweet and savoury) and morning goods, all of which are available both fresh and frozen dependent on customer channel requirements.

· Gluten Free bread, morning goods and cake ranges.

· The Company is one of the largest ambient cake manufacturers in the UK, a market valued at over £978 million (source: IRI 52 w/e 19th June 2021). The retail bread and morning goods market has a value of £5.1 billion (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 18th April 2021). The retail Free From cake market is valued at £52 million (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 16th May 2021). The retail Free From bread & morning goods market is valued at £144 million (source: Kantar Worldpanel 52 w/e 18th April 2021).

· The Company comprises a core UK Bakery division and an Overseas division:

· The UK Bakery division has manufacturing sites in Cardiff, East Kilbride, Hamilton, Salisbury, Sheffield, Manchester, and Pontypool.

· The Overseas division comprises the Company's 50% owned company, Lightbody Stretz Ltd, which supplies and distributes the Group's UK-manufactured products, primarily to Europe, and the Company's manufacturing facilities in Rybarzowice and Zywiec in Poland.