Princes falls to £50m loss and makes further redundancies as potential sale looms
Food giant Princes cut over 150 jobs while slipping to a loss of more than £50m despite its revenue rising by £300m, new documents have revealed.
The Liverpool-headquartered group, whose licenced and owned brands include Branston, Batchelors’, Flora, Olivio, Crisp ‘n’ Dry and Jucee, reduced its headcount from 6,475 to 6,309 in the 12 months to March 31, 2023. The redundancies were made after Princes also cut over 300 jobs in its prior financial year.
Newly-filed documents with Companies House also show that it went from making a pre-tax profit of £28.9m to a loss of £50.6m over the same period.
The loss was despite the firm’s revenue increasing from £1.4bn to £1.7bn during the year.
The group said its profits were impacted by the effect of inflation leading to an increase in prices and finance charges.
Princes’ net assets decreased from £361.9m to £295m because of a re measurement of pensions asset, a loss on hedging instruments and dividends being paid out.
Its net debt went up from £550.9m to £624.1m due to increased borrowing to support rising working capita as a result of inflation.
A statement signed off by the board said: “The directors aim to maintain the management policies which have resulted in the group’s growth in recent years and to invest in projects that will drive improved profitability.
“The ongoing impacts of global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, cost-of-living crisis and the conflict in Ukraine have been severe and far reaching.
“However, as our industry and group responds and adapts to change, we are also transforming our business to build a more resilient future and continuing and continuing to play an important role in delivering affordable, nutritious food and drink to hard working families.
“Against this backdrop, our operations team have concluded a long-term investment programme at our Long Sutton, Cardiff and Erith manufacturing sites, adding capacity and capability.
“From advancements in our sustainability and innovation journeys, to the completion of major investment projects and the evolution of our people policies, Princes is making important progress across all areas of the business and within our supply chains.
“While navigating ongoing industry headwinds, we are well-positioned for the future and looking forward to continuing to work towards our vision of proudly helping families to eat well without costing the Earth.”
Princes was founded in Liverpool in 1880 as Simpson & Roberts. In 1989 it was taken over by Japanese giant Mitsubishi, since then it has bought brands from Napolina to Aqua Pura.
The results come after it was reported recently that a British-based buyout firm and an Italian food manufacturer are vying for control of the company.
In its accounts, Princes stated that its directors, along with Mitsubishi Corporation, are reviewing the investment strategy for the business which could lead to a sale.