PD HOOK GROUP has grown sales and profits in its most recent
financial results, which cover the year to 31 October 2018.
Revenues were £564m with profits of £15.3m, according to the
latest financials, compared with £541m and £14.3m the year before.
Director James Hook said in the group strategic report the
firm had performed well, with chicken and turkey demand remaining strong.
But a tough economic climate, uncertainty over Brexit and a
shrinking labour pool had all presented challenges.
The sales growth was attributed to both sales volume and price
growth, as well as “positive sales of turkey poultrs in our first full year of
trading since the acquisition of Bernard Matthews in 2017”.
Operating profit fell to £20.0m (2017 £21.9m) “primarily as
a result of having to absorb rising costs within the business”.
“The recruitment and retention of staff has proved ever-more
difficult as the pool of available labour reduces, and a number of migrant
workers chose to return to their native homes,” he said.
Lower labour availability was being mitigated by automation
and consolidation within the business, the report says. Average employee
numbers fell from 958 to 942, when compared with the previous period.
The report concluded: “Our objective is to be a major provider of day-old quality chicks in the UK across all production types balancing the need for low
