Sales rise at cake maker despite food price falls

Bakery products supplier Finsbury Foods, a major employer in Scotland, yesterday said it was on track to increase sales this year despite tough market conditions,

The firm, which employs more than 1,000 people at its Lightbody cakes business in Hamilton and 120 at Johnstone’s in East Kilbride, said in a trading update that total sales revenues in the year to 1 July grew to £314.3 million, up 0.3 per cent on last year. Profits are expected to be in line with market expectations.

Against a backdrop of UK retail food market deflation, the UK bakery division saw sales fall by 1.4 per cent on a like-for-like basis, although the decline reduced from 2.9 per cent during the first half of the year to an increase of 0.1 per cent in the second.

Chief executive John Duffy said: “Considering the pressures the industry faces, we are very pleased to have grown revenue and are confident we are well positioned to maintain its strong market position and continue to deliver shareholder returns.”