Finsbury Foods has announced falling sales in its cake business has resulted in a 2% drop in revenue for the 17 weeks to the end of October.

The firm, which manufactures cake, bread and morning goods, revealed that group revenue was 2% less than the comparable period last year, and 4% behind on a like-for-like basis, excluding the recently acquired Goswell business.

Its bread and free-from businesses continued to achieve double digit growth, with its acquisition of Goswell contributing to an 11% growth in sales. Like-for-like sales increased 8%.

Commenting on the performance of its cake business, the firm said it has increased promotional investment and exited “some low margin products” as it has integrated its cake business.

“Consumer behaviour is still being affected by the recession and premium range sales have been impacted in the short term,” commented chief executive John Duffy.

“The economic environment remains challenging and uncertainty around input price inflation remains high. We continue to focus on integrating our businesses to improve efficiency and operating margins whilst gaining an improved understanding of our consumers.”