The UK food business made the majority of is profits in the second half of the year, which includes the important trading period for its business units Cake Decoration and Premium Bakery in the run up to Christmas.
The company remains confident that full year revenue and underlying earnings (EBITDA) will be in line with its expectations, though it did concede that it has been immune from the impact of higher commodity prices that have been hitting margins.
The biggest factors affecting Real Good Food were the increased prices of key ingredients, like butter, sugar and oils.
Bad timing
The company’s statement reported that the cost of butter, in particular, more than doubled just ahead of the Christmas season.
However, the company has now implemented targeted price increases and expects margins to be largely restored by the start of the next financial year.
Real Good Food focuses on three main markets: Cake Decoration (including its Renshaw, Rainbow Dust Colours companies); Food Ingredients (encompassing Garrett Ingredients and R&W Scott); and Premium Bakery (incorporating Haydens and Chantilly Patisserie).