Profit tumbles at Humdinger
Profit has almost halved at snack food business Humdinger, which makes products under licence for brands including Reggae Reggae, Vimto and Sun-Pat. The company has an operation in Sleaford.
Commodity prices squeezed profit in 2010, according to the business, which forecast a recovery over the coming year both in cash terms and through a return on sales.
In the year to 30 April 2011, turnover remained static at £49.3m but pre-tax profit dropped by more than £1m to £1.5m. Despite this fall, the company elected to pay a dividend of £864,000.
Humdinger, which makes its own snack products as well as those made under licence, said it had turned away business during the year and focused on value added projects in the hope this would underpin future growth.
An "insatiable" demand for commodities from China and India had driven a rise in prices but Humdinger said it expected this to ease.
