Real Good Food plc has announced its Final Results for the Year Ending 31 March 2016.
Following the successful disposal of Napier Brown, which generated a profit of £9.1m, the group made a statutory profit before tax of £12.9m in the year
The disposal transformed the company's balance sheet, reducing net debt from £30.1m down to £5.1m.
The firm continuing investment strategy in core markets and across business assets to drive operating efficiency and future EBITDA growth.
Real Good Food's acquisition strategy is progressing to plan and has seen: Rainbow Dust Colours (January 2015); ISO2 Nutrition (December 2015); Chantilly Patisserie (February 2016) successfully completed.
A New Development Centre in Liverpool opened providing a base for the group's support functions (Technical, IT, HR, Operations) and a state-of-the-art Innovation Centre for new product development.
The period saw the launch of Renshaw Academy to further monetise the Renshaw brand and to cement its position as industry leader in the global cake decorating market
There is a strong financial and operational platform in place for future growth in all three pillar markets: Cake Decoration, Food Ingredients and Premium Bakery.
Pieter Totté, Executive Chairman, commented, 'The hugely successful disposal of Napier Brown transformed our balance sheet and has enabled us to begin a strategy of investing in our core markets.
'We have spent the time since reviewing our strategy, clarifying our focus and restructuring the business accordingly. We now operate in three pillar markets (Cake Decoration, Food Ingredients and Premium Bakery) and our objective will be to build scale and strategic positions in each of these through organic growth, targeted investment and bolt-on acquisitions as appropriate.'
On the outlook for the current financial year, he added, 'The food industry faces challenging times with diversifying sales channels, increasing legislative burdens, the growth in the minimum wage and ever-demanding consumers. The response to these trends require being alert to all these factors and having the resources to invest and adapt.
'I am confident that with our clear strategy and strong balance sheet we are in a good position to build three increasingly strong businesses in our three pillar markets.
'Trading in the first three months of the new financial year has been satisfactory with recent order intake positive, and with the investments we are making, I am confident that we will deliver growth across all three divisions.'