Inflation costs eat into Pukka Pies' profits
A rise in the cost of ingredients has hit Syston-based Pukka Pies, new account documents reveal. The pie maker said profits after tax had fallen from £4.6m to £3.9m after being hit by inflated costs.
But directors said they expected trade to improve in 2011/12 and hoped to continue their policy of never having made a redundancy.
For the year ending 30 May 2011, Pukka Pies posted a turnover of £35.9m, a 4 per cent drop on its 2010 year-end in which it netted £37.5m.
The company attributed the dip to "higher inflation on ingredients costs".
However, the pie manufacturer was optimistic about the upcoming trading months, stating: "The company has continued to build brand awareness and the directors expect the business to grow over the coming years."
Pukka Pies added that job security remained a "central objective" having never made a redundancy throughout its trading history of nearly 50 years.
Turnover derivation was weighted heavily towards the UK market; £35.5m was brought in from domestic sales, while just £344,910 came from Europe. The figures remained fairly constant with the previous year's results.
Although an additional two members of staff were recruited over the year, spending on employees' wages and other costs dropped by more than £50,000.
The costs associated with all 265 members of staff in 2011 totalled £8m.
Cash reserves slipped slightly over the year, with Pukka Pies said to have £3.4m in hand and in the bank at its year-end, compared with more than £4m in the previous year.
The total equity dividend proposed was £2m, a significant decrease on its £6m payout in the previous year.
Pukka Pies, which was set up in 1963, now sells about 60 million pies each year.
