Lower overhead costs and an improved product mix at Maple Leaf Bakery UK has helped boost parent company Canada Bread’s frozen bakery sales.
Second quarter sales stood at C$125.7m (£80.53m) for the six months to 30 June 2012, compared to C$123.9m in 2011 (£79.38m).
The firm said that after adjusting for the closure of its Walsall bakery in the UK, the related exit of unprofitable categories, and currency translations, sales were up 5%. However the rise was mainly due to stronger volumes and selling prices in its North American frozen bakery operations.
Adjusted operating earnings within frozen bakery stood at C$6.9m (£4.4m) compared to C$1.9m (£1.2m) last year.
Richard Lan, president and chief executive officer of Canada Bread, said: “Our results improved from last year and significantly from a weak first quarter, reflecting some improvement in volume and the benefit of price increases in our frozen bakery segment to manage higher costs.
“While the bread category continues to be soft in both North America and the UK, we will continue to manage this through proactive sales strategies, product innovation and cost reduction.”
Canada Bread is 90%-owned by Canadian-based Maple Leaf Foods. Its frozen bakery arms comprises products sold to retail, foodservice and convenience channels in North America and the UK, including the New York Bakery Co brand.
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