Boparan profits surge as 2 Sisters maintains sales
Black Country frozen chicken tycoon Ranjit Boparan has hailed the latest performance from his 2 Sisters food group, with profits surging 25% despite tough markets.
In the face of price deflation, currency headwinds and EU referendum uncertainty the company also saw total sales edge up by 0.6% to £779.7 million in its third quarter, while pre-tax profits rose to £20.6m.
Like-for-like sales, however, slipped by 0.9%.
Unveiling the latest figures from 2 Sisters parent company Boparan Holdings, Mr Boparan said: "This is another positive performance, with the progress we experienced in previous quarters continuing and the group improved total sales and operating profit, despite the volatile grocery market, deflationary pressure and uncertainties around the EU Referendum."
"Our branded division also continues to perform extremely well with growth at Fox's Biscuits and Goodfellas pizza.
"Our investment programme continues at pace. We are investing to improve efficiency and delivery, fundamentally changing the supply chain, and our strategic investment project continues on time and to budget, with a £6m extension and equipment upgrade at one of our facilities in Nottinghamshire."
The company, which started out in the Black Country with chicken processing factories in Wolverhampton, Smethwick and West Bromwich, now employs 23,000 following a string of major takeover deals in recent years, including Northern Foods, with 45 sites in the UK, Ireland, Poland and the Netherlands. It now supplies around a third of all the poultry consumed in the UK.
This built up a large debt pile, but over the last 12 months it has been cut by £31.3m to £711.0m.
Meanwhile Mr Boparan, who started out as a Wolverhampton butcher's assistant, has just bought the Giraffe family restaurant chain from Tesco. He already owns Harry Ramsden's fish and chip shops.
In May he firmly backed the Remain camp in the EU debate, saying: "A vote to leave the EU has the potential to decimate the British food industry. It's already a tough environment; highly labour intensive, high volume, producing very low cost products for low margins, and operating in a deflationary market.
