Greencore, the Irish-headquartered food-to-go business, recorded a sharp fall (-74%) in pre-tax profits to £12.4m for its 2017 financial year to the end of September.
During the year, Greencore completed the acquisition of the US company Peacock Foods, which saw full year revenues increase almost 57% to £2.3bn.
However, restructuring costs and impairment charges on some assets saw operating profits in the business fall 43% to less than £43m, as profit margins narrowed 330 basis points to a slender 1.8%.
Excluding these charges, Greencore said adjusted operating profits increased by more than a third to £140m, with margins only slightly lower (down 90 basis points) at 6% for the year.
“The acquisition of Peacock Foods and the significant UK network investments made to support large new business wins have reshaped our business.
“While we have delivered good financial and operating progress in the year, the transformation has not been without its challenges,” said Greencore chief executive Patrick Coveney.
The company has recommended a final dividend payout to shareholders of 3.37p per share, which will bring the total shareholder dividend for the year to 5.47p per share.