Revenue for U.K. food company Cranswick’s poultry business increased by 6.7% for the fiscal year ending March 25, and represented about 18% of the company’s overall revenue.
Cranswick released the results of the most recent fiscal year on May 23.
While the revenue for the poultry business unit was up during the year, the cooked poultry segment saw its revenue well below the year-ago figure, largely due to a product recall in May 2022. While the company said volumes continue to recover, they are still below what they were prior to the recall.
New prepared poultry plant successfully commissioned
Near the start of the year, the new GBP32 million (US$39.75 million) prepared poultry facility in Hull was successfully commissioned. A range of premium prepared poultry products are produced there for an “anchor retail customer and a strategic quick service restaurant customer,” the company stated.
CEO Adam Couch said the volumes produced in Hull are ahead of what was originally planned.
Investment in thigh deboning
Cranswick invested in a fifth portioning line at one of its facilities during the year. Progress toward realizing the benefits of that investment is being made, the company said.
“This investment will add additional automated portioning and thigh deboning capability, with the additional capacity added to meet retail demand,” Cranswick stated.
Avian influenza challenge
Cranswick noted that avian influenza (AI) continues to present a heightened risk to the fresh poultry business.
“Although the business impact has been limited and the overall risk to production is still low, controlling the spread of AI remains a priority. Heightened biosecurity protocols remain in place at the site and on all farms,” the company stated.
Cranswick, according to the Poultry International Top Poultry Companies survey, is the sixth largest poultry producer in the U.K., having slaughtered 67.6 million broilers during the past year.
