Richmond Foods says acquisition has ‘transformed’ company

UK – Ice cream manufacturer Richmond Foods said yesterday that its acquisition of Nestle’s UK ice cream business has transformed the company.

The statement came with Richmond’s results for the six months to 31 March. The company said that like for like sales growth in April was 15% with total sales up 60%.

Richmond said that its operating profit was £209,000 (335,500 euro) for the six months. It is only the second time in the company’s history that it has made a profit in this half. The company normally relies on strong summer sales of its ice creams to turn a profit, but has been helped recently by total ice cream sales in the UK rising 8% per year.

In a statement, Richmond chairman Ross Warburton said that he expected the company’s full year results to be significantly ahead of last year.

Richmond bought Nestle’s UK ice cream business for 15.9 million euro last October. It closed its plant at Telford in November.