GNC Greencore Group Plc

RNS Number:2915R
Greencore Group PLC
15 February 2007



GREENCORE GROUP PLC

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING
CHAIRMAN'S SUPPLEMENTARY STATEMENT
AND TRADING UPDATE



At the Annual General Meeting of Greencore Group plc to be held in Dublin today,
the chairman, Ned Sullivan, will make the following statement:



"Greencore performed strongly during 2006, a year in which its transformation
from a principally agribusiness based group into one of Europe's leading
convenience food producers was completed.



The Convenience Foods division, which accounted for 92% of the Group's
continuing operating profits in 2006, performed strongly with turnover growth of
8.3% and operating profit growth of 5.7%.  Margins were broadly maintained (7.7%
in 2006 versus 7.8% in 2005) despite divisional energy cost increases of more
than Eur5m year-on-year.



The Board expects that the strategic and operational model of the Convenience
Foods division will drive further growth in 2007.  This growth is anticipated
despite the occurrence of an electrical fire at our largest sandwich facility at
Manton Wood in December 2006 that will negatively impact on the costs of our
sandwich business in this financial year.  In addition, the division continues
to face strong inflationary pressure on raw material pricing.  We are
aggressively pursuing a broad set of Total Lowest Cost, product innovation,
pricing and new channel initiatives to offset these impacts and deliver on our
expected growth.



The Ingredients, Agribusiness and Related Property division delivered an
excellent performance, reporting operating profits of Eur27.6m in a year of
dramatic change that regrettably marked the last sugar campaign for Irish Sugar.
  The new EU sugar regime, which was announced in November 2005, posed an
insurmountable challenge to profitable sugar beet growing in Ireland and,
therefore, to a competitive sugar industry.  The Group responded by delivering
an excellent final year of sugar performance, by committing early to exit sugar
production and by strongly defending the Group's entitlement to restructuring
aid under EU law.  A trial date for the judicial review of the Irish
Government's decision regarding the allocation of EU aid has been set by the
Irish High Court for 1 May 2007.



Over-capacity in European malt markets and significant energy price inflation
adversely impacted on the performance of Greencore Malt in 2006.  However, the
anticipated improvement in the malt cycle has now commenced and that, allied to
excellent commercial and operational performance across our malt business, will
drive a significant profit improvement in this business in the current financial
year.


During 2006, the Group increased its focus on unlocking the value from its 970
acres of potential development property.  In recent months Greencore has
submitted proposals for developing its lands at Carlow and Mallow to the
relevant County Councils.  Carlow Gateway and Mallow West are exciting proposals
that, if adopted, will deliver significant investment and substantial job
creation, providing approximately 2000 jobs in each town.  We look forward to
working with the respective Councils and communities over the coming months on
the comprehensive development plans for each town.



Overall, we are excited about both the progress and momentum within the three
core parts of the Group's portfolio.  While recognising that the second half of
the year is a much more significant contributor to annual Group performance, the
Board anticipates that, barring unforeseen circumstances, earnings per share for
financial year 2007 will at least match the current market consensus level of
25.6 cent."







E.F. Sullivan
Chairman                                                    15 February 2007





For further information, please contact:

David Dilger

Group Chief Executive                                         +353 1 605 1045
Patrick Coveney

Chief Financial Officer                                       +353 1 605 1018
Eoin Tonge

Group Capital Markets Director                                +353 1 605 1036
Billy Murphy or Anne Marie Curran
                                                     
Drury Communications                                          +353 1 260 5000
Rory Godson or Victoria Brough

Powerscourt                                                  +44 207 236 5615




                      This information is provided by RNS
            The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END

AGMOKQKNOBKDQBD

Greencore (LSE:GNC)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 6월(6) 2024 으로 7월(7) 2024

Greencore (LSE:GNC)
과거 데이터 주식 차트
부터 7월(7) 2023 으로 7월(7) 2024