Greencore chief: Brexit would be ‘damaging’ for food industry

Greencore chief executive Patrick Coveney has said an exit by Britain from the European Union would be very damaging to the food industry in the UK.

He said a potential exit was “very realistic” and that the “politics of it are going to be very competitive.”

Speaking after the Greencore AGM in Dublin today, Mr Coveney said a Brexit would make raw materials more expensive, people costs more expensive, and could lead to higher interest rates.

“An inevitable consequence is that Scotland could have a second referendum and leave the UK,” he said.

He said the board of Greencore had discussed the impact of a potential Brexit for the company, and were against any exit.

Mr Coveney said he had attended a meeting of food manufacturers last week, which had 150 business leaders in attendance, and that 100 per cent were against a Brexit.

Greencore this morning reported a 7.2 per cent increase in revenues in the first quarter of the year, driven by strong growth in its food to go division.

In the 13 weeks to December 25th 2015, revenues at the London-listed group rose to £356.0 million (€370m), up by 7.2 per cent on the prior year. Revenues in convenience foods rose to £345.1 million, up by 7.7 per cent on 2014.

Despite a “challenging” UK grocery retail market, UK revenues were up 7.9 per cent, with a good performance in core chilled categories.

“ Our strong growth was driven by the annualisation of prior year business wins together with the impact of new product launches,” Greencore said, as it noted that its new production facility on the Northampton campus is nearing completion with commissioning on track to commence in the spring.

In the US, revenues rose by 6.5 per cent, and Greencore said that progress continues to be made on ramping up production capability in the Quonset, Rhode Island facility. The construction in Seattle is progressing to plan, Greencore said.

Revenues in ingredients and Property fell by 6 per cent to £10.9 million. This division now represents less than 5 per cent of group activity.

Looking ahead, the convenience food group said that it has had a “good start” to the year.

“We remain confident in our ability to deliver performance in line with market expectations,” the company said.