According to newly filed accounts with Companies House, British tea brand Twinings reported a solid financial performance for the year ending August 31, 2023.
Yahoo! Finance reported that the pre-tax profit for the London-headquartered business reached £95 million, up from £85.6 million the previous year. Revenue increased slightly, rising from £221.5 million to £226.7 million over the same period.
Notably, Twinings is owned by Associated British Foods, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. However, the Primark’s owner does not report the brand’s individual financial performance in its group results.
A statement signed off by the board mentioned, “Revenue has increased year on year by two per cent with higher domestic sales and royalty income being marginally offset by a minor decline in export sales. Growth in the domestic market is driven by higher prices, revised promotion plans and continued recovery of the out of home market.
“Grocery volumes have declined (mitigating the price market), which is reflective of broader market trends.
“Operating profit is down two percent year on year. Despite increased sales, input costs have also increased, and there has been increased investment for future growth in both advertising and promotion in key export markets and in the company’s project, which will upgrade our systems and processes and lead to benefits in future years.
“Profit after tax is higher due to increased interest on loan balances with group companies.”
The company saw a positive performance in its domestic market, with UK revenue rising from £101.2 million to £106.6 million. Similarly, royalty income increased from £31.8 million to £33.5 million. However, export sales experienced a slight decline, dipping from £88.4 million to £86.5 million.
Despite a slight dip in export sales, the company’s solid domestic performance and rising royalty income point to a year of overall growth for the historic tea brand.
Associated British Foods
Associated British Foods had a good year. Their full-year revenue jumped from £16.9 billion to £19.7 billion, and pre-tax profit increased from £1 billion to £1.3 billion.
The strong performance continued into the first half of 2024, with revenue rising from £9.5 billion to £9.7 billion and pre-tax profit soaring from £644 million to £881 million. This success allowed the company to raise its dividend payout.
ABF’s CEO attributes this growth to a return to normalcy in markets and supply chains, along with improvements in operational efficiency from past investments. They’re seeing profit margins return to pre-pandemic levels.
