Diversified UK group Associated British Foods has reported a 14 per
cent increase in half yearly operating profits, despite tough
market conditions in its bakery and snacks related businesses.
North American Bakers Yeast division of Canadian company Lallemand
is due to complete its newly constructed yeast plant in Memphis,
Tennessee by the end of the month.
Following hot on the heels of last week's announcement that net
income for the first quarter is set to exceed projections,
privately owned US agribusiness Bunge said yesterday that it now
owns 100 per cent of French oil processor...
Ireland's Hibernia Foods is to close one of its ready meals and
cake production facilities in the UK in a bid to improve
profitability. The company expects savings of up to €8 million a
year as a result.
Finland's Chips group is to expand its operations to Russia by
acquiring the Russian Snack Company. The group sees major potential
in a market where annual consumption of snacks is just 0.3kg per
head.
A combination of poor weather conditions and a one-off charge
relating to an arbitration case involving one of its franchises did
little to dampen the financial performance at doughnut manufacturer
Krispy Kreme in fiscal 2003.
The fast-growing fresh ready meals market in the UK - and even
higher growth rates in France and the Benelux - helped UK food
group Geest to a 15 per cent increase in sales last year.
French baked goods company Brioche Pasquier invested heavily in
2002 after one of its production facilities was destroyed by a
fire. But the loss did not prevent the company from increasing
sales.
Greggs, the UK sandwich and baked goods manufacturer and retailer,
has reported record pre-tax profits for 2002. The company expects
growth to continue in 2003, helped by new store openings.
Kerry, the Irish ingredients group which makes coatings for the
bakery and snacks industry, among others, has reported a strong
increase in sales and profits, helped by excellent performances
from all its operating units. The food...
A strong performance from its Tree of Life business in Europe gave
Dutch food group Wessanen something to smile about in 2002 -
otherwise the year was marked by more disposals and continued
problems at the US arm.
Dutch nutrition company Numico is struggling to stay afloat at the
moment, but rumours in the Dutch press suggest French dairy giant
Danone could be interested in a bid. An odd choice for the French
company which has been streamlining...
Interstate Bakeries, the largest wholesale baker in the US, has
said that weak sales, high product returns and escalating energy
costs would cut its expected profit.
The merger of PepsiCo with compatriot Quaker Oats gave a major
boost to operating profits at the giant snack food and soft drinks
group in 2002 - and the recent reorganisation of the international
business should lead to further gains...
Scientists at the Purdue University in the US have discovered that
ozone gas can eliminate insects in grain storage facilities without
harming food quality or the environment.
The Burns Philp - Goodman Fielder saga continues with the news
today that the Australian Competition & Consumer Commission has
cleared the hostile bid from Australian ingredients company for
Australia's largest food company.
Australian yeast and ingredients group Burns Philp, currently in
the midst of a hostile takeover bid for food company Goodman
Fielder, today reported a 40.3 per cent increase in net profit to
A$95.1 million (€51.8m) for the fiscal...
Increased expenditure on brand-building and promotions helped
US-based cereals and snack foods group Kellogg to a 10 per cent
increase in sales for 2002, a good result after a turbulent year in
2001.
Swedish grains group Cerealia has acquired Danish baker Schulstad
in a move which will create the biggest bread group in the Nordic
region - and with a major export potential to boot.
US flavours and fragrance giant International Flavors &
Fragrances saw fourth quarter 2002 sales rise 5 per cent to $424.3
million (€391m) from $405.6 million for the same period in 2001,
despite weak economic conditions in Latin...
It would appear that the bid from Australian ingredients and yeast
company Burns, Philp & Co for Goodman Fielder is far from over
with the company saying on Wednesday that it had received approval
from the Foreign Investment Review...
The Burns Philp hostile bid for Australia's biggest food company
appears to be far from over with the ingredients and yeast company
yesterday referring its bid to the Australian Takeovers Panel - the
principal forum for resolving...
Mission Foods, the world's leading producer of tortillas and
tortilla chips, has increased production capacity at its
state-of-the-art Coventry, UK, factory with the help of two high
speed, electronic, modified atmosphere packaging...
Goodman Fielder, Australia's largest food company, has today
rejected a hostile bid by international yeast and ingredients
company Burns Philp. Goodman Fielder advised its shareholders to
spurn the bid because "the offer...
A disappointing Christmas period meant that sales did not quite
meet expectations, but French baked goods group Brossard
nonetheless ended the year with a 35 per cent rise in sales - and
expects further growth in 2003 after the launch...
In a bid to strengthen customer relations, French chemicals company
Rhodia announced yesterday that from now on it will be grouped
around four divisions which will essentially serve the company's
key markets.
Increased marketing expenditure to back the relaunch of the
flagship McVities brand helped United Biscuits increase its sales
in 2002. But it is the possible future of the company - and the
likelihood of a bid from minority shareholder...
Baked goods producer and retailer Greggs expects to show
'satisfactory' growth in full-year sales when it reports in March
after preliminary figures for the second half showed a 5.4 per cent
improvement.
The European Commission has approved the acquisition by US
investment fund Bain Capital of the European chemical intermediate
businesses of French chemicals group Rhodia.
In a bid to streamline its UK milling operations, food and
ingredients group Associated British Foods is to sell its British
third party flour milling business to ADM Milling, a wholly owned
subsidiary of Archer Daniels Midland.
The Australian competition watchdog accuses biscuit, bread and
cake-maker George Weston Foods, and one of its former senior
executives, of fixing the price of flour.
The founder of Germany's largest bakery chain, Kamps, has stood
down from his post as chairman. Heiner Kamps will stay on as a
consultant, but said he could not remain as the head of the company
now that it had been acquired...
Cargill Dry Corn Ingredients, a subsidiary of privately-owned US
agribusiness giant Cargill, continues to make inroads into Europe
with the announcement this week that its €6.05m state-of-the-art
masa flour plant is officially up...
SIG Doboy Linium has supplied Manor Bakeries, the UK producer of Mr
Kipling brand cakes, with two packaging lines at its Stoke on Trent
facility. The new lines were designed to provide flexibility for
future changes and to meet requirements...
After months of bitter negotiations with staff at its Fontaneda
biscuit unit in Spain, Britain's United Biscuits group has agreed
to sell the company to Siro, another Spanish biscuit maker which
has agreed to maintain staff levels...
The bakery units of Canada's Maple Leaf Foods, including its
UK-based bagel producer, are to be consolidated into one company
under the aegis of Canada Bread.
Canada Bread, a unit of Canada's Maple Leaf Foods, said on
Wednesday that it will buy all of Maple Leaf's other bakery
operations and consolidate them in a C$266 million (€168m) deal,
including debt, that will transform...
Two fires at production plants in the space of a year have dented
sales growth at industrial bakery group Brioche Pasquier, but the
company remains confident that normal service - and faster growth -
will be resumed very soon.
United Biscuits' management in the UK has finally run out of
patience with staff and unions at its Fontaneda plant in Spain. If
all the parties cannot agree on terms for the relocation of staff
to other UB sites by 15 October,...
Following the FTC's recent report on false claims made by weight
loss products, the Strategic Research Institute in New York is
holding a forum for weight loss marketers to learn about the latest
findings, investigations, guidelines...
The impact of the strong Swiss franc meant that sales growth at
bakery group Hiestand slowed slightly in the first six months, but
the company maintains that it is in line for further growth, not
least following a major new deal with...
Associated British Foods, one of Europe's largest food
conglomerates, has chosen Denver, Colorado, as the headquarters and
manufacturing hub for its newly established US bakery operations.
Sales at Hero, the Swiss consumer foods and baking aids group,
increased by more than 10 per cent in the first half of the year,
helped by the acquisition of a majority stake in the German
business of Schwartau in April.
Italy's biggest miller, Grandi Molini Italiani (GMI), refuses to
import genetically modified (GM) wheat because consumers do not
want it, its CEO Antonio Costato said on Monday.
Arkady Craigmillar, a UK supplier of bakery ingredients and frozen
products, announced this week that production of its confectionery
mixes will move to its Manchester factory from a Unilever-owned
facility in Suffolk.
The ownership of UK food producer RHM, formerly known as Ranks
Hovis McDougall, is once again in question, according to a recent
interview. The company may soon change hands for the third time in
a decade.
Panera Bread Company, the US-based bakery franchise, has reached an
agreement with a group of investors to open 14 bakery-cafes in
northwest Los Angeles county. Adler, Glazer and Wyss will operate
under the franchise group name Mariposa...
