Northern Foods suffers fall in first half profits

FOOD manufacturer Northern Foods posted a 34 per cent fall in first-half underlying pre-tax profit as it was hit by lower demand at its Frozen division, which makes pizzas to pies.

By The Newsroom

Published 9th Nov 2010, 08:21 BST

Northern Foods, which makes own-label products for retailers as diverse as premium food seller Marks & Spencer and discounter Aldi, said today trading conditions at its Frozen unit remained tough.

For the 26 weeks ended October 2, pre-tax profit before restructuring items and net pension financing was 9.6m, compared with 12.9m last year.

Revenue fell 3 per cent to 453m, while like- for-like sales grew 2.7 per cent.

Last month, the Leeds-based company said it was changing the structure of its business, by shifting from five business units to two divisions -- branded and chilled, to save money as it braced for a possible double-dip recession.

Northern Foods shares, which have lost 32 per cent of their value since the start of the year amid a tough retail market climate, closed at 46p on Monday on the London Stock Exchange

Aldi Leeds