Punters paid out for premium meat and added value meat products over Christmas, adding major gains to meat processor Cranswick’s bottom line.
This comes as sales of traditional meats in the UK have bounced back, despite years of decline.
Cranswick’s added value products including cold cuts, pigs in blankets, gourmet sausages and gammon put in a strong performance in its third-quarter trading update for the 13 weeks to 28 December.
Premium meat sales up at Cranswick
“We have delivered a record Christmas trading period underpinned by outstanding service levels and sector leading innovation across our festive product range,” said Cranswick CEO Adam Couch.
The business continues to drive investment into its facilities across the UK, adding capacity and bolstering automation to bolster efficiency.
“We are accelerating the pace at which we deploy capital to drive attractive and industry leading returns and we now expect full year capital expenditure to be ahead of our previous guidance,” Couch added.
In December Cranswick acquired JSR Genetics, a leading UK pig genetics company. The meat processor will utilise JSR’s genetics knowledge and infrastructure to deliver “cost effective pig production”.
Genetic improvements to pig herds
Through the acquisition, Cranswick will make genetic “improvements” to the sustainability and efficiency of pig herds.
It would also deliver pig genetics with a continuous improvement in production efficiency, meat quality, animal health and robustness, added Couch.
“This acquisition increases the scale of our indoor pig production, further securing supply for our customers’ pork requirements,” he said.