Food giant Princes has cut over 150 jobs and suffered a loss of more than £50 million despite a £300 million increase in sales, new documents show.
The Liverpool-based group, whose licensed and owned brands include Branston, Batchelors’, Flora, Olivio, Crisp ‘n’ Dry and Jucee, reduced its workforce from 6,475 to 6,309 in the 12 months to 31 March 2023. The redundancies came after Princes also cut over 300 jobs in the previous financial year.
Documents recently filed with Companies House also show that pre-tax profits for the same period turned from £28.9 million to a loss of £50.6 million.
This loss occurred despite the company’s turnover increasing from £1.4 billion to £1.7 billion during the year.
The group said its profits had been hit by the impact of inflation, which had led to an increase in prices and financing costs.
Princes’ net assets decreased from £361.9 million to £295 million due to a revaluation of pension entitlements, a loss on hedging instruments and the payment of dividends.
Its net debt rose from £550.9 million to £624.1 million due to increased borrowings to support inflation-related increases in working capital.
A statement signed by the board of directors said: “The directors intend to maintain the management policies that have led to the growth of the group in recent years and to invest in projects that lead to improved profitability.”
“The ongoing impact of global events such as the Covid-19 pandemic, the cost of living crisis and the conflict in Ukraine have been severe and far-reaching.
“As our industry and our group respond and adapt to change, we too are transforming our business to build a more resilient future and continue to play an important role in providing hard-working families with affordable, nutritious food and beverages.
“Against this backdrop, our operations team has completed a long-term investment programme at our manufacturing sites in Long Sutton, Cardiff and Erith to expand capacity and capabilities.
“From progress on our sustainability and innovation initiatives, to the completion of major investment projects and the further development of our people policies, Princes is making important progress across all areas of our business and within our supply chains.
“While we face ongoing industry headwinds, we are well positioned for the future and look forward to continuing to work toward our vision: helping families eat well without putting a strain on the world.”
Princes was founded in Liverpool in 1880 as Simpson & Roberts. In 1989, the company was taken over by the Japanese group Mitsubishi and has since bought up brands from Napolina to Aqua Pura.
These results follow recent reports that a British buyout firm and an Italian food manufacturer are vying for control of the company.
Princes stated in its accounts that its directors are reviewing with Mitsubishi Corporation the investment strategy for the company, which could lead to a sale.
