UK-based food equipment manufacturer Enodis has announced group profits before tax of £11.3 million (€17.8m) for the first six months of the financial year ending in March. In a relatively weak global market, analysts have described the overall results as "good" for the company, however the food equipment division has shown a dip in its performance, compared to last year's figures.
Food Equipment sales were down 6 per cent to £390 million, in what Enodis describes as a particularly weak market. The food service equipment division reported operating profits which were also down by 6 per cent, to £28.9 million. However, the performance of the North America food service equipment division was considerably better, reporting a 7 per cent increase on the previous year to £24.6 million.
Over the past financial year, management changes and other actions taken to improve performance in Europe have included cost savings of approximately £17 million.
Peter Brooks, Enodis' chairman, said: "These first half results are encouraging with a particularly strong performance from Food Service Equipment in North America. Good progress has also been made towards our objective of reducing debt, including the disposal of non-core businesses.
"There are grounds for cautious optimism in respect of the market for food service equipment in North America, while demand for food service equipment in Europe is weak.
"Overall, our expectations for full year operating profits are unchanged from those at the time of our preliminary results announcement in November 2001. The second half will benefit from the effects of seasonality and management actions including market share gain initiatives and new product development."