Bakkavor Group PLC on Wednesday said its yearly revenue increased, though its bottom-line was hurt by inflationary pressure and site closure costs.

The London-based food manufacturing company said its pretax profit in 2022 fell 77% to £18.1 million from £81.4 million the year before.

Meanwhile, the company’s revenue increased 14% to £2.14 billion from £1.87 billion the year prior, which has kept Bakkavor.

Bakkavor said its annual outturn was in line with market expectations.

Hurting profit, Bakkavor reported £50.1 million worth of exceptional items, against none a year prior. Corporate restructuring costs amounted to £5.3 million, UK site closure costs and impairment charges related to them totalled £11.8 million and £19.5 million.

The company declared a final dividend of 4.16 pence per share, up 5.1% from 3.96p. It means its total dividend for 2022 amounted to 6.93p per share, up 5.0% from 6.60p.

Chief Executive Officer, Mike Edwards, commented: ‘The decisive action we have taken to protect profits - to restructure our operations, re-focus our regional priorities and be more targeted in our investment - combined with our strong balance sheet, provide us with a stronger platform to move forward with purpose and confidence.’

Bakkavor shares were 3.2% down at 103.60 pence in London on Wednesday afternoon.

Copyright 2023 Alliance News Ltd. All Rights Reserved.