Foodservice supplier Reynolds Catering Supplies is predicting growth despite its turnover dropping by over 10% in the last year.
Having reported a turnover of £190.5m in 2016, down from £213.3m the year before, the main reason behind the decline was down to it exiting a distribution contract with popular cafe chain Pret a Manger, which took a £39.8m toll on the books.
Its decision to leaving Pret was fuelled by a change in strategy, where the company wanted to focus its efforts on Reynolds’ own products rather than those of third parties.
However, excluding that hefty figure from the equation, sales from continuing operations increased by 10%. It has also recently added to its name a new fully-owned subsidiary company, Wicker Seafood, and is investing in fresh meat business, Carnivore FMC.
Furthermore, wanting to diversify its customer base, in 2016, Reynolds’ new contract wins included a major pub chain and a major hotel chain.
Managing director, Tony Reynolds, said: “As a result our full year results for 2016 do not fully demonstrate the improved run rate in our profitability that has been seen since this change. However, we believe that the platform that this built has put us in a very strong position for future growth in line with our strategy, something which is supported by the improvement in profitability seen during the rest of 2016 and the first half of 2017. Performance in 2017 has been strong, and our forecasted end of year position is well in excess of prior year.”
