Greencore Group reported first-quarter results which showed a revenue decline of 4.7% to £441.3m (€516m).

The company said when adjusted for the disposal of vegetable oils business Trilby Trading in July, the dip in revenue was less than 1%.

There was a drop in volume of almost 5% as Greencore made the decision to exit contracts which were delivering “sub-optimal returns”.

In the ready-made food-to-go category, sales increased by 0.9% to £293.7m (€343m), while other convenience categories were down 14.2% to £147.6m (€172.4m).

Outlook

In its outlook for the rest of the year, the company said that inflationary pressures on raw materials and energy are easing, providing a more stable cost picture for 2024.

Greencore said that wage inflation will persist, a problem the company said it would manage through recovery and mitigation actions.

Greencore said it will generate a full-year 2024 performance in line with market expectations for an adjusted operating profit of between £80.5m and £85m (€94m and €99.3m).

CEO Dalton Philips said that the company is “committed to continuing to drive profitability through commercial discipline and are investing in several initiatives to develop a robust platform for future growth”.

As previously announced, Catherine Gubbins will join the company as executive director and chief financial officer on 6 February.