Preliminary Results, 2022

Roebuck Food Group plc (AIM: RFG), is pleased to announce its results for the year ended 31 December 2021.

Group Financial Highlights – Continuing Operations

• Group revenue increased by 29% to £31.4m (2021: £24.3m)

• Earnings per share of 0.5p on continuing operations (2021 : loss of 3.5p)

• Profit after tax from continuing operation of £0.2m ( 2021 : loss £1.1m)

• EBITDA of £0.5m from the Dairy division (2021 : £0.1m)

• EBITDA of £0.4m from the Sourcing division (2021: £0.3m)

Diluted adjusted EPS is calculated using loss for the financial year from continuing operations as the measure of earnings. The financial information above, including comparative information, is from continuing operations only.

Sourcing Division

Sales at our sourcing division increased by 28% in 2022, compared with the same period in 2021, from £23.3m to £29.9m. Operating profit improved from £0.3m to £0.4m.

Townview Foods Ltd, continues to execute its commercial strategy which centres on diversification of products and end-markets. Our core animal proteins business continues to deliver consistent revenue and profits with a low-risk trading model and diversification of product sourcing and end-markets. From a standing start in March 2022, we have grown our dairy ingredients trading business into a significant operation both in terms of revenues and profits and we are confident about its prospects in 2023. We are also developing capability in plant-based ingredients which will allow us to offer a full portfolio of ingredient solutions to our customers. Operating margins declined slightly in the period, mainly due to the investment in talent, ICT and marketing. Overall, we are confident that our commercial strategy will continue to deliver profitable growth in 2023.

As part of a strategic alignment with Townview Foods Ltd, Foro International Connections Ltd was rebranded to Townview Sourcing Ltd in May 2022.

Townview Sourcing sales increased by 57% from £2.1m in 2021 to £3.3m in 2022.

The strategic alignment between Townview Foods Ltd and Townview Sourcing Ltd companies will create cost saving efficiencies and allow Roebuck Food Group Plc to have continuing ease of access to the UK, Republic of Ireland and European markets.

Dairy Division

Our primary dairy operation, Cantwellscourt Farm Ltd, exceeded expectations in 2022 in revenue and profit terms, driven by record dairy prices and good delivery across its management KPIs. Milk production was down 3% whilst revenue from milk sales was up 43% year on year. This was partially offset by input cost inflation, particularly in feed and fertiliser; our pasture-based system gives us some protection from rising input prices.

We expect the average farmgate milk price in 2023 to weaken versus last year but to remain at a level which delivers above average returns.

Discontinued

Our subsidiary, Grass to Milk Company Ltd, exited the Chinese market in H1 2022 due to ongoing lockdowns, supply chain disruptions and cost inflation. China has proven a difficult market for a majority of overseas dairy companies over the past 24-months with an unprecedented shift toward domestic supply. Opportunities for A2 protein ingredients in other export markets have failed to materialise, due to high dairy commodity prices making it difficult to achieve firm commitments from customers and a lack of interest from processors to dedicate capacity towards A2 during the scale-up phase. At this juncture, we do not have any immediate commercial prospects, so we have reclassified the business as a discontinued activity. Accordingly, we have impaired the intangible asset of £0.7m. The total loss from discontinued operations recogonised during the year is £1.1m.

During the year we also incurred an additional amount of £0.3m in respect of the sale of the cold store business that was sold in 2021.

Strategic Review

Following the successful sale of the Cold Stores business, Roebuck Food Group PLC (RFG), formerly known as Norish PLC, returned £49.92m to shareholders at the end of 2021. Overall, we believe our core sourcing and dairy businesses are well placed to deliver profitable growth in 2023, notwithstanding an expected reversal of some pricing tailwinds from 2022. We continue to examine M&A opportunities, which can complement our existing businesses, which fulfil our criteria in terms of growth prospects, margins and returns. We remain focused on delivering shareholder value through efficient capital allocation.

Dividend

The board does not recommend the payment of a dividend.

On behalf of the board, I would like to thank the management team and staff for their commitment and contribution in 2022.

Ted O’Neill

Chairman

31 March 2022

For full results, please download the document below.