CRANSWICK has underlined poultry as a strategic growth engine after reporting a 13.9% rise in poultry revenue for the 52 weeks ended 28 March 2026, with the category now accounting for 20.3% of reported group revenue.
The UK food producer said poultry growth was delivered across fresh, prepared and cooked formats, supported by stronger demand, firmer pricing following welfare-led production changes, and higher throughput at its Eye processing facility in Suffolk.
See also: Cranswick scopes major Grimsby poultry processing plant with peak capacity of 1.75m birds a week
Group revenue increased 9.5% to £2.98 billion, while adjusted operating profit rose 14.5% to £237.0 million. The company said its 35-basis-point margin improvement, to 7.9%, was driven in part by its integrated poultry supply chain, automation, capacity utilisation and cost control.
The company has completed a £7 million investment in additional incubatory capacity at Kenninghall to support a planned uplift at Eye to 1.6 million birds per week. A separate £13 million project at Eye, designed to add about 15% processing capacity, is continuing, and Cranswick has now committed a further £56 million to expand the site footprint and add a second line. That investment is expected to raise total processing capacity at Eye to 2 million birds per week and complete during the financial year ending March 2028.
The group is also continuing feasibility work for a second fresh poultry facility. Chairman Tim Smith said the transition to higher-welfare, lower stocking densities across poultry rearing had constrained British chicken supply. Combined with growing consumer demand, he said, this had contributed to increased imports, with implications for food resilience and quality standards.
Higher welfare production
Cranswick said it had completed the move to enhanced welfare, lower stocking densities across its poultry supply chain after securing additional growing space. The change had delivered improved welfare outcomes and enhanced farm productivity, according to the company, while also supporting the uplift in processing capacity at Eye.
Added-value poultry also remains a focus. Prepared and cooked poultry delivered double-digit revenue growth, helped by higher volumes and a better sales mix following the onboarding of premium retail business. A £30 million expansion of Cranswick’s cooked and breaded poultry facilities in Hull was completed in the first half, adding whole-bird and bone-in portion cooking and roasting capability.
The company has extended the terms of a long-term fresh and added-value poultry supply agreement with its core customer, providing further visibility for capacity investment.
Disease and input-cost risks remain prominent. Cranswick identified infection within livestock, animal welfare, labour availability, cyber security and supply availability as principal risks, and said avian influenza and emerging Newcastle disease in poultry continue to be closely monitored under strict farm biosecurity protocols.
