Lees Foods hit by commodity prices
The parent of Lees of Scotland and The Waverley Bakery said that group sales for the six months to June 2011 were a record £10.22m, up 6% year-on-year.
However, pre-tax profits for the first six months were likely to be lower than last year due to high commodity prices, the firm said.
Lees Foods said it is taking steps to mitigate the impact of these costs. However there had been “a natural time lag in this process”.
Speaking to FoodManufacture.co.uk at the end of May, Lees Foods ceo Clive Miquel reflected on a “good couple of years" for the firm.
But he warned about spiralling commodity costs. "We’re operating in a very challenging environment and there is little we can do to combat commodity and packaging price rises and other world influences," he said.
The firm expressed optimism about the second half of the year, and said it was confident of achieving current market forecasts for the full year.
Lees Foods will announce its interim results on September 28.
