Only a few more sleeps before we find out how Cranswick (CWK) fared over the seasonally-important Christmas period, with the UK food producer prepping its third-quarter trading statement for release on 21 January.

Shares believes the update could stoke another round of forecast upgrades, since Cranswick continues to profit from its strong relationships and scale with the current winners in UK grocery, among them Tesco (TSCO), Sainsbury’s (SBRY), Marks & Spencer (MKS), Lidl and Morrisons.

A FTSE 250 company with a long-run track record of tasty returns, the UK’s largest pig farmer continues to serve up robust growth in its most developed category, pork, as well as in poultry, where management continues to invest and analysts spy attractive long-term growth potential.

At the interims in November, Cranswick highlighted a ‘strong’ Christmas order book and said it expected ‘further progress’ in the second half, while endorsing the year-to-March 2025 consensus estimates which were raised in September.

Results for the first half to 28 September 2024 were nothing short of outstanding, showing volume-led revenue growth, up 6.1% to £1.33 billion, with broad-based revenue progress including a 16.4% uptick in poultry sales and 71% growth in pet food, reflecting the ongoing roll-out of Cranswick’s supply partnership deal with retailer Pets at Home (PETS).

Adjusted pre-tax profit fattened up 17.4% to £95.8 million and Cranswick cooked up a 10.1% hike in the interim dividend to 25p, leaving the company on track for its 35th year of unbroken dividend growth.

‘Our continued positive progress is made possible by our industry-leading asset infrastructure, the unrivaled capability of our colleagues across the business, the breadth and quality of our product range and robust financial position,’ said chief executive Adam Couch. 

UK UPDATES OVER THE NEXT 7 DAYS

FULL-YEAR RESULTS

17 Jan: Safestore

22 Jan: LBG Media

23 Jan: Nexus Infrastructure

TRADING ANNOUNCEMENTS

17 Jan: Bakkavor, Dunelm, Harbour Energy, Rathbones, Taylor Wimpey, Whitbread

20 Jan: Midwich

21 Jan: Kier Group, Premier Foods

22 Jan: EasyJet, Intermediate Capital Group, Wetherspoon

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