Cranswick H1 2026 Earnings Report

Cranswick EPS Results

• Actual EPS: GBX 144.40
• Consensus EPS: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• One Year Ago EPS: N/A

Cranswick Revenue Results

• Actual Revenue: N/A
• Expected Revenue: N/A
• Beat/Miss: N/A
• YoY Revenue Growth: N/A

Cranswick Announcement Details

• Quarter: H1 2026
• Date: 11/25/2025
• Time: Before Market Opens
• Conference Call Date: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
• Conference Call Time: 4:30AM ET

Cranswick (LON:CWK) is a leading and innovative supplier of premium, fresh and added-value food products with revenues of more than £2.7 billion. The business employs over 15,400 people and operates from 23 well-invested, highly efficient facilities in the UK. Cranswick was formed in the early 1970s by farmers in East Yorkshire to produce animal feed and has since evolved into a business which produces a range of high-quality, predominantly fresh food, including fresh pork, poultry, convenience, gourmet products and pet food. The business develops innovative, great tasting food products to the highest standards of food safety and traceability. The Group supplies the major grocery multiples as well as the growing premium and discounter retail channels. Cranswick also has a strong presence in the ‘food-to-go’ sector and a substantial export business. For more information go to: www.cranswick.plc.uk At Cranswick, it is second nature for us to protect and nurture our environment while supporting people and communities to thrive. Guided by our sustainability strategy, Second Nature, we have seamlessly integrated our sustainability commitments into the core of our business model, which in turn shapes our decision-making, culture, and actions. For more information on our Second Nature strategy, please visit: www.cranswick.plc.uk/sustainability

Cranswick H1 2026 Earnings Call Transcript

Key Takeaways

• Positive Sentiment: Delivered a strong first half with 10.4% revenue growth (like‑for‑like just under 8%), UK food volumes +7%, adjusted operating margin up to 7.7% and adjusted EPS +9.3%.
• Positive Sentiment: Accelerating capacity and vertical integration via record investment — ~£90m H1 CapEx, the ongoing £100m Hull expansion (35k→50k pigs/week), plus acquisitions (Blakemans, JSR Genetics, Fridaythorpe Mill) to boost feed self‑sufficiency and premium capability.
• Neutral Sentiment: Balance sheet and liquidity position support growth — free cash flow £97m but net debt rose ~£126m from CapEx and M&A; management secured a new £360m revolving credit facility (option to extend to £450m) and says leverage remains modest.
• Negative Sentiment: Market and cost pressures persist — pig price deflation and higher production costs from the move to lower poultry stocking densities could weigh on farming margins, despite retailer cost‑plus contracts and premiumization tailwinds.
• Positive Sentiment: Board remains shareholder‑friendly, raising the interim dividend by 8% to 27p, reflecting confidence in cash generation and ongoing growth visibility.

Presentation

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

We're good to go. All right, wonderful. Good morning, everybody, and welcome to our Interim Results Presentation. Delighted once again to welcome you to Butchers Hall, alongside myself and Mark, presenting. There's also several more members and more of our senior leadership team here that will be available for you to ask any further questions at the end of the formal presentation. If I can just direct your attention, please, to the agenda on page one. I'm going to comment on the progress that we've made throughout the course of the first half of the year. Mark, as usual, will run through the financials, and then Jim to give a more in-depth view of his take on the wider commercial market, which I know you guys will take an awful lot of interest in. If I can just direct your attention, please, to page three of the deck.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

We've made substantial progress in delivering on the strategy in the first half of this year. Our revenue increased by more than 10%. This was underpinned by volume growth of 7% in our U.K. food business, and we've delivered revenue growth across all of our product categories. Adjusted operating margin increased to 7.7%, and this reflects a strong contribution from our poultry farming operations, investment in the automation throughout the course of the business, and excellent capacity utilization, along with tight cost budgetary controls. Investment across the asset base has continued at record levels, with almost GBP 90 million spent in the first half. The GBP 100 million investment program at our facility in Hull, on our primary processing site, continues unabated, and this will take our throughput of pigs from that site, from its current level at 35,000 pigs a week, to a maximum capacity of 50,000 pigs on that site.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

In mid-September, we completed the purchase of the Fridaythorpe Mill. This is based in East Yorkshire, and this was purchased from AB Agri, and this increases greatly our pig self-sufficiency and brings it more in line with our poultry capacity. Integration of the recent Blakemans acquisition, as long as JSR Genetics, has gone particularly well, and I'll come back onto that in the strategic performance of the business later on. I'll cover the benefits of all these additions and how the effect that that's having in the wider business. If I can just ask you to turn to page four on the financial metrics, this demonstrates that we've now delivered another record performance in the first half of the year, and that we continue to deliver on the ambitious growth plans that we set out before you before now.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

I've already highlighted the strong volume-led growth and improvement in operating margins, and indeed, the adjusted EPS was 9.3% ahead of the corresponding period last year. Our cash generation was in line with our medium-term target at 90%, and despite the record capital expenditure and the money spent on acquisitions, our leverage remains extremely low, and we have maintained our return on capital employed at just over 18% as we continue to effectively deploy capital and generate these strong returns. Following on from that, we're announcing today the increase of the interim dividend by 8% to GBP 0.27 per share, and I'll now hand over to Mark who'll cover in more detail the financials.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Thanks, Adam. Good morning, everyone. As always, I'll just spend the next few minutes running through the half on financial highlights. Throughout the presentation, unless I say otherwise, I'll be referring to adjusted numbers, which exclude the impact of IAS 41, which you'll see has had quite a bit of volatility on the statutory measures and amortization of acquired intangibles and impairment of intangible assets. If you want to see the reconciliations between adjusted and statutory measures, they're shown in the appendix at the back of the slide deck. Turning to the financial highlights on page six of the deck, and just continuing what Adam has just talked us through, we've delivered another period of strong growth across all key metrics. Double-digit revenue growth, a 9.7% increase in adjusted PBT, and strong EPS and DPS growth as well.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Our cash conversion continues to be strong, with free cash flow of GBP 97 million, and net debt excluding leases increased by GBP 126.4 million over the period, reflecting record capital expenditure, the acquisition of Blakemans and the Fridaythorpe Mill, and growth in working capital, particularly our stock build as we build towards our peak Christmas trading period. Turning to page seven and looking at the numbers in a little bit more detail, reported revenue up 10.4%, well ahead of our medium-term target, with like-for-like revenues up just under 8%. Adjusted gross margin was 29 basis points higher at 15.6%, and adjusted operating profit increased by 13.5% to GBP 113 million, with operating margin strengthening to 7.7%, 21 basis points higher than H1 FY2025, and 88 basis points higher than the same period two years ago.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Adjusted profit before tax at GBP 105.1 million was 9.7% ahead, and adjusted EPS at GBP 1.444 per share increased by 9.3% compared to GBP 1.321 last year, reflecting the growth in adjusted PBT. As Adam mentioned, we're proposing to increase the interim dividend by GBP 0.02 per share, or 8%, to GBP 0.27 per share. That is nearly a 20% increase over the past two years. As Adam mentioned, and very pleasingly, our return on capital employed remains extremely strong at 18.2%. Moving on to the next page, page eight, as I've already highlighted, reported revenue growth was 10.4%, underpinned by volume growth in U.K. food of 7%, reflecting new business wins and strong demand for our premium products as the U.K. consumer continues to appreciate the quality, the value, and the versatility of our core pork and poultry categories.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Performance is strong across the board with growth in all our product categories. Jim will talk you through this in a lot more detail in a moment or two, but just a couple of key callouts. Poultry revenue up 18.5% with the onboarding of new premium retail added value business, driving an improved sales mix and increased volumes, also higher pricing in fresh poultry, reflecting the rapid and successful upscaling of our poultry farming estate to effectively transition to the new lower stocking density standard. Poultry now represents 20.9% of group revenue. Gourmet revenue up 15.9%, reflecting the acquisition of Blakemans and strong demand for our premium added value gourmet product ranges. Pet revenue, while small in the context of the group, was up 13.6%, reflecting further expansion of the Pets at Home relationship. Now moving on to margins.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

On page nine, through consistent targeted investment and focused delivery of our strategy, we've again delivered strong progression across all key margin metrics. Compared to H1 FY2025, gross margin increased by 29 basis points to 15.6%. EBITDA margin was up by 28 basis points to 11%, and operating margin was 21 basis points higher at 7.7%, comfortably above our medium-term target of 7.5%. This margin progression reflects a strong and growing contribution from our integrated poultry supply chain, investment in process automation, excellent capacity utilization, and our relentless focus on cost control. Now moving on to cash flow and then onto the balance sheet. On page ten, net debt increased by GBP 99.9 million to GBP 272.3 million, which includes GBP 145 million of lease liabilities.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

You can see a strong EBITDA inflow of GBP 161.4 million, and that was offset by a GBP 46 million investment in working capital and biological assets, reflecting investment in new long-term strategic partnerships and a very strong Christmas stock build. Tax paid in the period of GBP 20.9 million was just GBP 0.3 million higher than a year ago. As we have already mentioned a couple of times, record capital expenditure and spend on acquisitions of GBP 121 million, which compares to GBP 51.1 million in the same period last year. I will come on to that in a little bit more detail shortly. Dividends paid in the year were GBP 40.6 million, GBP 4.5 million up on last year, reflecting the 12.9% increase in the FY2025 final dividend.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

As we continue to broaden out our poultry farming estate, a GBP 12.3 million increase in lease liabilities, particularly, as I mentioned, in relation to that move to lower stocking densities, where effectively you need 20% more space now to grow the same number of birds. Notwithstanding this period of record investment, we have maintained our investment-grade balance sheet with very modest levels of bank debt, and gearing, including IFRS 16 lease liabilities, remains below one-time leverage. Looking at cash generation over the longer term, on page 11, our cash generation over the last seven and a half years, and indeed going back much further, has been consistently strong. We have generated over GBP 1.2 billion of free cash flow over this period. How have we used that? GBP 738 million has been reinvested to strengthen, expand, and diversify our asset base, and we spent GBP 225 million over that period on accretive acquisitions.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

We've also returned almost GBP 276 million to our shareholders through our progressive cash dividend policy, and over the five years to March 2025, we've increased our dividend by 67%, and we delivered our 35th year of unbroken dividend growth and remain on track to deliver our 36th. Following a highly competitive refinancing process, which successfully completed during the period, we secured a new GBP 360 million revolving credit facility, which extends through to July 2029, with the option to extend for a further two years. We also have the option to access a further GBP 90 million on the same terms, which lifts our total facility now to GBP 450 million from GBP 300 million previously, and provides generous headroom to support the next stage of our ambitious growth plans. Turning now and looking at CapEx in a little bit more detail.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

As I said, during the first half, we invested a record GBP 89 million across our asset base, with GBP 25 million of this spent on farming and feed milling, and the balance of GBP 64 million spread across our industry-leading asset base. Total expenditure in the period was just over 55% of EBITDA, which is slightly ahead of our medium-term guidance ratio of 50%, but I expect that rate of CapEx to continue through this year now, so we'll spend an equivalent amount in H2 to the amount we spent in H1. As you can see, we've made significant progress across our pipeline of major capital projects. As Adam mentioned again, the transformational GBP 100 million multi-phased expansion project at our Hull primary processing facility is progressing to plan.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

The GBP 25 million fit-out of the houmous and dip facility in Worsley, Manchester, is nearing completion, and the GBP 30 million expansion of the two added value poultry sites in Hull is now complete with new premium retail business onboarded. The GBP 30 million throughput expansion project at the Eye site is ongoing, and last but by no means least, we have committed a further GBP 14 million at our Lincoln pet food facility to create capacity to manufacture new high meat content products, the newly secured business with Pets at Home. I think it is just worth referencing because I did have a few questions about this one a couple of weeks ago. The GBP 40 million of investment in our pig farming business, which we called out following the recent publication of the independent review of our pig farming operations, is not new incremental CapEx.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

This investment was already in the pipeline, but will now be fast-tracked and completed over the next three years. Turning to page 13 and looking at ROCE, we've a proven track record of delivering attractive return on capital whilst deploying capital with discipline and at pace. This has been a fundamental element of our successful growth strategy. ROCE has remained in the high teens despite a threefold increase in capital employed over the past ten years and remains above 18% even with the record pipeline of CapEx. Turning to page 14, this slide provides a reminder of our value creation model and our medium-term targets, and we continue to successfully deliver against this model, and we've again outperformed our medium-term targets. On page 15, we presented this slide for the first time on our Capital Markets Day a few months ago.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

It explains how our business model and strategy have been created and developed to deliver strong compound growth. Our H1 FY26 results provide further compelling evidence of this capability. Over the last five years, we've overlaid operating margin of expansion of 104 basis points onto 9.5% compound revenue growth. We've consistently generated strong cash flows, which allow us to invest at pace across our asset base and in targeted M&A, and the Blakemans acquisition and the Fridaythorpe Mill purchase, which both completed during the period, are the latest in a long line of successful bolt-on earnings-enhancing deals. We have driven and maintained a return on capital employed in the high teens well ahead of our WACC, and our business model and our strategy are built on solid foundations underpinned by an unparalleled quality asset base, depth of management, and balance sheet robustness.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Moving on to the capital allocation framework, we have a well-established framework, and we will continue to invest in the business to support our growth strategy. We'll maintain an investment-grade balance sheet, and we'll maintain a progressive dividend policy with cover of at least 2.5x EPS to DPS, and we'll continue to explore complementary targeted bolt-on M&A. Briefly to recap from me, we've grown revenue by 10.4%, underpinned by 7% volume growth in U.K. food, increased PBT by 9.7%, and lifted adjusted earnings per share by 9.3%. We've invested at record levels across our asset base to further strengthen the foundations of the business and build the capability to deliver long-term sustainable growth. Our cash generation is strong, and our balance sheet remains in excellent shape.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

We're increasing our interim dividend by 8%, and we have a sustainable and compelling business model which will drive strong returns and compound growth over the long term as we continue to deploy capital at scale and at pace. I'll now hand over to Jim, who will update you on our commercial progress.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Good morning, everyone, and thank you, Mark. Yeah, I'll just take the next few minutes just to walk you through market context for our key categories, highlighting this year's commercial achievements, and then share our priorities and opportunities as we look further ahead. If I turn your attention firstly to page 18, as we all know, the U.K. consumer environment remains challenging. Cost of living pressures, political uncertainty continue to weigh on consumer confidence, and value therefore is still a primary driver of many purchase decisions.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Whilst disposable incomes, on the other hand, have actually improved in real terms, food prices still remain a major concern for many customers. We've seen a clear shift away from out-of-home dining, which has created a number of opportunities for retail innovation and premiumization, which I'll come on to later, and also health and protein-rich diets are increasingly important to consumers, and actually return to scratch cooking is now evident as customers seek affordable ways of feeding themselves in a healthy way in the home. Actually, the U.K. retail sector continues to grow both in volume and also driven by inflation driving the top line higher.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Market share gains in absolute terms, as I'm sure you're aware, very much driven by Tesco and Sainsbury's, while actually Ocado, M&S, and Waitrose are starting to see some growth from a percentage point of view, really highlighting that premium opportunity and that affordable treat. The discounters, of course, though most notably LIDL of late, maintain momentum with a compelling value proposition. It's fair to note that LIDL's trading intensity is well below that of ALDI, so I think there's still potential for further growth from the LIDL camp going forward. The food service market is incredibly challenging with raw material inflation. A lot of food service operators are very exposed to beef prices, which I'll come on to later.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Of course, rising labor costs, all that impacting volumes and their price mix, and it's becoming increasingly more expensive for shoppers to eat out of the home, therefore impacting on volume. The value-led operators in the food service sector, such as McDonald's and Greggs, however, are proving more resilient, and a lot of the new entrants in this market are targeting the growth in fried chicken. Just quickly moving on to page 19, and this is just really showing the volume change within the various pig, poultry, beef, and lamb categories particularly, and what you can see here is strong growth at the pig and poultry end where affordability is key, but also that versatility in the health context as well. Beef prices have risen by something like 23% in recent months, impacting volumes by nearly 12%. These are quite profound numbers.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Similar numbers on lamb with volumes actually off by 21%. A real change in the kind of mix of how consumers are managing their budget in this space. One thing to call out is pork mince volumes have actually increased by about a third year on year as consumers are switching out of beef. Some pretty profound numbers here. Moving over the page onto page 20 and just looking at our major categories, we've delivered positive growth at top line everywhere and in most cases very much driven by volume. Pork volumes up by 7.7%. Value was slightly behind that, really reflecting the reduction in pig price that we've seen over the period. Convenience division growing sales by 7.1% with volume growth of two.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Poultry growing at top line by 18.5%, reflecting a couple of things there basically, mainly the increase in the value-added sales, but also the cost inflation associated with that move to the 30-kilo stocking density as well. We actually also temporarily reduced the kill in the poultry sector as we transitioned to the agricultural footprint being lower stocking. However, that's now reestablished and we'll be moving forward with that again. Pet products growing by 13.6%, reflecting those better quality sales from particularly Pets at Home and reducing our lower value portfolio. We have also seen a bounce in export sales following the reapproval of China this time last year. Moving over the page onto page 21, obviously, as I often call out, innovation being the lifeblood of this business. We often talk about keeping our products relevant to the consumer: premium, affordable, convenient, and healthy products.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

many cases, actually, we combine a number of these attributes. Value, as I've been talking about today, is clearly a key part of the strategy. During the year, we've launched several value-oriented products, often as ALDI price match SKUs at the entry tier in some of the major supermarkets, but also looking at automating things like the marinade products you see there to make that affordable and convenient midweek meal. It's also a key theme now that many baskets are actually containing a blend of both the value and the premium things. Where consumers see value in the trade-up, they're very happy to do that. However, when there's base commodities that they don't see a perceived difference in the product, they're very happy to buy into the value ranges as well.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Premium, of course, has always been a major focus area, and the current market conditions are allowing for even more premium products. We've actually developed a number of super premium ranges here, such as the Tesco Finest Chef's Collection range you can see there, and some super premium ranges in sausages, also a collaboration with Tom Kerridge with M&S as well. Customers are really willing to pay a lot more, and that's often reflecting that trade down from the out-of-home space I mentioned. A lot of expansion in the convenience snacking solutions. There you can see some of our mini cooked sausages there and some of the platter and selection packs from Continental as well.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Finally, reinforcing health as well, where we've been taking some of the ultra-processed type ingredients out of our products and looking to much cleaner deck, more home-cooked style products there, which is working extremely well for us. Moving on to page 22 and looking ahead, I think we're very well positioned for the group's largest ever Christmas. Record volumes of pigs in blankets with 120 million units planned this year. We've got more premium gammons than ever. We're offering more sous-vide turkeys to more customers. In the last quarter of next, sorry, in the last quarter of the financial year and the first calendar year, we're actually onboarding the additional volume from that Sainsbury's 10-year deal as we move towards a sole supply pig meat scenario there.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

We've also actually been awarded sole supply of all Pets at Home owned brands of dry dog food, and that's adding there, particularly their AVA brand and their grocery label products. They are transitioning into our factory between now and the end of January. Looking ahead, priorities remain very clear under quality, value, innovation, and that great customer service through our people. This year, we were very proud to receive the Advantage Survey Only Own Label Supplier of the Year award, a recognition of those strong partnerships that are really key to our strategy going forward. We know there's always room to improve, and it also gives us good metrics there on where we can do an even better job working towards being our customer's most trusted supplier.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Really, just to summarize on this, we expect growth to continue through these expanded partnerships, premiumization, continued efficiency gains supported by these long-term agreements with key customers in those retail and pet categories. I will now hand you back to Adam to cover the operating and strategic review. Thank you.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, thank you. Thanks, Jim. I'll now just briefly update you on the strategy as well, cover some of the more salient points over these last few months before moving on to the Q&A. If I could just turn your attention, please, to page 25. The growth strategy continues to build on the key strengths of this business and has remained very consistent, as you will know, over many years.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

We continue to grow the cash-generative nature of the core range through our focus on high-quality, affordable, healthy proteins and added value proteins and products that resonate with our consumers. We continue to invest in the supply chain and across the asset base to drive both growth as well as efficiency. We will further deliver expansion through our focus on the white space opportunities, as Jim has touched upon, and unlocking those adjacent categories. We will look to extend our operational leadership and increase capacity through the significant pipeline of ROI enhancing investment projects. With increased capacity, we intend to gain further market share. We continue to diversify and strengthen this business through the focus on innovation and the complementary acquisitions that we've made today across both the supply chain and across the adjacent categories and markets.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

We will drive and expand these categories as we diversify further into them. Over the last 10 years, we have delivered compound annual growth in excess of 10%. Adjusted PBT, EPS, and dividend per share are all comfortably in excess of this 10% over the same period. With the continued focus on the strategy of consolidate, expand, and diversify, I am confident that we will continue to deliver strong and sustainable compound growth for the long term. I just want to cover briefly in more detail the three recent acquisitions that we have undertaken throughout the course of this year and demonstrate the successful delivery of these growth plans. JSR Genetics is a business that we have known for a lot of years, probably the best part of 30 years in my instance anyway, and we are now the only U.K. processor with our own dedicated pig genetics production capability.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Integration into the group is now both well progressed, and with available genetics production capacity is now fully utilized from internal demand and performance is ahead of expectations by quite some pace. As a result, we're now extending further and investing further to expand the production capacity at this genetics production sites. To give you an idea, we've got about 45% and about 40% of the dam line and sire line addressable market in the U.K. It is a very substantial business this when it comes to the genetic makeup of it. Seamless feedback from the downstream breeding, rearing, and processing operations and enhanced genetic selection is driving benefits across the farm productivity, animal welfare, and product quality. The vertical integration drives the core and at the same time enables innovation in the product, strengthening the customer proposition and relationships that we are able to promote with a competitive advantage.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Blakemans is another business that we've known for the best part of two and a half decades, and we acquired this business back in May. It's a well-invested manufacturer of raw and cooked sausage. The business specialises in producing for the food service sector, and it has a strong demand in its marketplace, reflecting great value for money vis-à-vis other proteins currently served in the food service outlets. This acquisition is therefore highly complementary to our existing retail-focused gourmet product business, and it enables us to more effectively serve identified white space in the food service sector. By bringing Blakemans into the group, we've also been able to unlock significant procurement advantages and synergies for the business. Through this vertical integration, we've also strengthened our relationship with customers in the food service sector, such as Greggs, that was already a supplier via ourselves into that marketplace.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Fridaythorpe Mill was acquired back in September, just finished, and this again represents a step change in our feed milling operations. Alongside ongoing capacity into our existing estate, Fridaythorpe has the potential to increase our self-sufficiency on pig feed dramatically. Through bringing this production capacity in-house and matching it with our demand, we can rationalize diets, we can maximize the operating efficiency whilst also capturing margin in the supply chain. Turning on to page 27, the independent veterinary review that we had committed to back in May has now concluded. On the 11th of November, we published the summary findings and recommendations on our website. We welcome those recommendations highlighted by the report, and we will improve our practices relating to the health and welfare of the pigs that we produce.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

The six-point plan, along with the GBP 40 million of capital expenditure Mark alluded to before, will enable us to lead wider industry and continue to strengthen our animal welfare standards across our farming operations. Finally, on the final page, on turning to page 28, trading through the first half of this year has been strong. We've delivered volume-led revenue and earnings growth driven by new business wins with a positive contribution from recent acquisitions and strengthened alignment to our key long-standing retail partners. We have a substantial capital investment pipeline with major growth projects underway across both pork as well as poultry, Mediterranean foods, and our pet food businesses. We continue to deploy capital at pace across these businesses, laying strong foundations for the future growth of the business.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Our Christmas order book looks extremely strong, and demand for our products remains high as the U.K. consumer continues to appreciate the quality, the value proposition, and versatility of our core pork and poultry ranges. The outlook for the financial year remains in line with the board's expectations. Finally, before moving on to Q&A, I want to thank our colleagues for the ongoing support and commitment. The successful performance of this business is entirely down to them. When we have a problem, we deal with it. They absolutely step up to the plate every single time, so I want to put my thanks to that on the record. The culture that we've fostered centers around a clear ambition to deliver strong, sustainable growth and will allow Cranswick to continue to prosper both in the current financial year and over the long term.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Now, on that note, I'll take questions from the floor initially before handing over to the moderator to allow those dialing in to ask questions. Thank you. Sorry.

[Matthew Abraham, Vice President of Equity Research for Consumer at Barenberg]

Great. Thanks. Matthew Abraham from Barenberg. First question just relates to the strong volume growth you've delivered throughout the half. You presented that helpful chart to highlight the pricing dynamics between beef and your proteins. Just wondering if there's a view as to what the incremental volume tailwind has been from that pricing dynamic and what your expectations are for the second half in terms of volume growth because of that pricing dynamic.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, Jim, do you want to pick that one up?

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Yeah, I can pick up on that. I think the dynamic we kind of saw in the beef prices is the wholesale price of beef moved ahead of the retail prices following suit.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

A lot of this is still playing out. Some of these, we're actually seeing an acceleration in the switch from beef to pork in more recent months. I think, yeah, I'll be confident that's a trend that will be set to continue for certainly the next six months of this financial year.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

When you look at relative beef prices, GBP 6.50 headed to GBP 7.50 earlier on this year, GBP 8 a kilo relative to the pork market, which was GBP 2.50 at its peak and now dropping to GBP 2 and probably further still. That proposition really does lay itself open to being really exploited, if you like.

[Matthew Abraham, Vice President of Equity Research for Consumer at Barenberg]

Okay, excellent. Next one, just on the APR charge for the first half, just wondering if you could quantify that, if possible, please.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

What charge, sorry?

[Matthew Abraham, Vice President of Equity Research for Consumer at Barenberg]

The extended producer responsibility charge.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

We are predominantly an own-label business, so that would be borne by the retailers.

[Matthew Abraham, Vice President of Equity Research for Consumer at Barenberg]

Okay, excellent. Just last questions in reference to the development of a processing facility for poultry, something you've spoken about before. Just wondering if there's an update there as to where you are with that process and how much capacity you have at your existing facility.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, we've got a number of different work streams in the pipeline. It'd probably be a bit ahead of myself to comment on it at this stage, but we are moving ahead and progressing, if you like, and looking for an alternative site. It's more than likely it will be further north than the existing one.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Okay, great. Thank you.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Gary.

[Gary Martin, Analyst at Davies]

Morning all. Gary Martin here from Davies. Thanks for taking my questions. Just a first one just around the outlook for the full year. I mean, there's clearly a pretty strong setup into the peak Christmas period, and your margin in the first half was quite robust relative to, I think, expectations out there in the market. What's the kind of shape into the back half of the year, do you think, just in terms of, let's say, top-line growth? Then also from a margin perspective, is there anything that would hold back a similar margin profile between H1 and H2? Thanks.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Gary, I think, as we discussed earlier this morning, I think Jim's mentioned a very strong Christmas order book. We've got to execute that. It is now about execution as opposed to winning the business and securing the volumes. We've got to wait to hear what the Chancellor says tomorrow morning.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

As you know, we are down northerners, and our innate conservatism always tends us to want to underpromise and overdeliver. I think that's the way we'll continue to do things. It's a methodology that's served us very well over a number of decades, if not the last few years. I would expect operating margin to be maintained through the second half in line with where we've been in the first half. As I say, we've got a strong Christmas order book, but let's see how things look the other side of Christmas.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

You're never going to see us do cartwheels at this time of the year, basically. We've got the head into Christmas that we've all sat on nervous energy, looking to deliver that, making sure we get the product delivered. We'll keep our powder dry on that front.

[Gary Martin, Analyst at Davies]

It's a sensible approach.

[Gary Martin, Analyst at Davies]

Just around the CapEx piece, and Mark, I think you'd mentioned that you're expecting CapEx to come in at roughly GBP 180 million for this year, which is a little bit above, I think, the market were expecting overall. Just in terms of the GBP 90 million, first of all, I mean, I guess what changed that allowed you to, I suppose, invest more faster? If we look at the back half of the year and the exit rate into FY2027, FY2028, what's the shape of CapEx on a go-forward basis? Is it just around automation, capacity enhancement? Can you give a rough split between those different components? Thanks.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

I think firstly, in the first half of this year, I think it's a reflection of the fact that we've had a number of years post-pandemic where lead times have been extended, whether that was delivery of kits or construction timelines, and that has eased, certainly. Added to that, as the business broadens out and continues to grow, there is more to invest in. I didn't mention Fridaythorpe Mill. That was part of our CapEx in H1 as opposed to M&A. Looking ahead, when you look at the pipeline of projects that we've called out over the last few minutes, there is a heck of a lot going on. Beyond the outturn of this year, our medium-term guidance is approximately 50% of EBITDA spent on CapEx, and I think that is a sensible place on which to model going forward.

[Gary Martin, Analyst at Davies]

That makes sense.

[Gary Martin, Analyst at Davies]

I know I could be cheeky and squeeze one more in just around Fridaythorpe that you just mentioned. Is the way to think about this, I think, potentially in your prepared remarks, you cited that it would bring your pork feed capability towards the level that's within poultry, which I believe is almost fully integrated from a feed perspective. Would that be correct? Just the way to think about it going forward, I think you'd mentioned that there were going to be some potential cost unlocks. Is the rollout of this or the adoption of this, is this margin accretive on a go-forward basis? Is that the way to think about it?

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

This will lift our potential self-sufficiency when we've got that mill operating as we want it to circa 40% of our pig feed requirements. I think we've mentioned that in the statement this morning.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Clearly, we are looking to deepen our vertical integration to bring the margins in-house. We would see this as a further part of that process. The key here really is about security of supply and getting exactly what we want for our pig diets and for our poultry diets as well. That is hugely important in terms of the conversations that Jim is having with our strategic retail partners as well. When these opportunities present themselves, we will certainly look to invest and expand.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

With pig feed, you do not want it traveling really more than a couple of hours. You will see us get greater self-sufficiency in the north. In the south, we do not feed many of our own pigs. The pig feeds in the south tend to do our poultry.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

There is some slack in there, if you like, but the feed mills in the north will look to greatly supply most of our northern requirement from that perspective. Much of the benefit, to Mark's point, is reducing in volume of diets, skew proliferation in the site itself, and also reducing soy inclusion in the diets as well, which is a great effect that we saw when we bought the Elsham mill a couple of years ago.

[Gary Martin, Analyst at Davies]

That makes sense. Thanks for taking my questions. I'll pass it on.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Matt, maybe at the front.

[Matthew Webb, Equity Analyst of Consumer Goods at Investec]

Morning, Matthew Webb from Investec. First question on capacity utilisation. You've mentioned the high level of capacity utilisation being one of the drivers of the strong margin performance. I'm conscious that you've got a lot of new capacity coming through.

[Matthew Webb, Equity Analyst of Consumer Goods at Investec]

Will the level of orders that you've got sort of assigned to that mean that the capacity utilization stays at a very high level, or should we factor in the possibility that that utilization level dips a bit temporarily?

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

I think it depends on the nature of the CapEx. Where it's CapEx, well, we're investing in an existing site. So take Eye, for example, we will utilize that capacity immediately. Where we build a new site, as sort of our most recent examples being the hummus facility at Worsley and before that prepared poultry, it takes a while for that capacity to be fully utilized. It depends.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

I think the beauty of our model is it's a blend where we've got those longer, slower-burn, new facilities that take time to get up and running, and there's a mountain of time where you're investing without any returns, and then you've got that incremental CapEx, which is almost delivering from day one.

[Matthew Webb, Equity Analyst of Consumer Goods at Investec]

Got it. Thank you. Second question on the genetic side. If I've read your body language correctly, it sounds like you're very pleased with how that has gone and excited about the benefits it's delivering already. How much more is there to come from that? I'm conscious particularly that it sounds like you're already fully utilising the capacity. Can you effectively invest more to gain more benefit from that or not?

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, at the point of acquisition, we were not even the largest customer for that business, and we have maintained the same customer relationships as well, so we intend to invest in it heavily. It is very much considered the two genotypes that are produced there, which is the Tempo Boar and the TN70 on the gilt side, both are recognized worldwide as being an absolutely excellent, progeny-excellent genetic profile, and therefore we will be duty-bound in order to invest. We want to become greater self-sufficient on our own, of course. There is a lot of runway to go out here. That, again, takes time, and it takes a significant amount of capital as well. We have the skill set already within the business. It was extremely well known to us by many of our senior leadership team anyway.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

The adoption and the transition into our business has been relatively seamless. It's not without its challenges, of course, and we want to grow it significantly, but we've really unshackled it for any potential that it was struggling with beforehand. We can really add a lot of capacity to that business.

[Matthew Webb, Equity Analyst of Consumer Goods at Investec]

Fantastic. Is that investment likely to be organic, or is that an area where bolt-on acquisition might be a possibility?

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Unlikely on bolt-on acquisitions. You're really coming up against the big players Genus and the likes within that area, but we believe we've definitely got the best genetics in the marketplace, both whether by motherability or food conversion ratio or temperament. It's an extremely good product.

[Matthew Webb, Equity Analyst of Consumer Goods at Investec]

Thank you very much. Thanks a lot.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Fawn, maybe.

[Fawn Odom Zuba, Analyst at RBC]

Thank you for taking my questions. Fawn Odom Zuba from RBC. The first one, just to follow up on the trend of increased CapEx, at least for this year. How should we think about depreciation expense this year?

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Depreciation, obviously, if we spend more CapEx and our capital fixed asset base grows, then our depreciation will increase as well. I think it is fairly logical. We do depreciate aggressively, reflecting that not necessarily that the equipment that we purchase is tired, far from it. We are always looking for new automation, latest generation equipment, and by doing that, we are able to invest in the next generation, get those faster throughput speeds, better efficiencies, et cetera. Yes, depreciation, you will see, it pretty much mirrors our CapEx and our asset base.

[Fawn Odom Zuba, Analyst at RBC]

Thank you. Second question, with the encouraging trend of new contract win, especially on a premium side, could you talk about growth driver?

[Fawn Odom Zuba, Analyst at RBC]

I guess some of that comes from increased demand from retailers, some from capacity increasing. Does any color on that and how much we expect the benefit from JSR Genetics to be part of that conversation with retailers going forward?

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Yeah, Jim might take that one.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of the premium trend is very much within our current capabilities. So I think that's more about expanding our share of premium within existing facilities, particularly in the pig meat side. We've seen a great trend on sausages this year. They've done extremely well. We've gone again with the quality and the pushing premium even harder there. A lot of the convenient meals type stuff we're doing there.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

You're right to call out on the genetic side as well, because the two major genetics that we use for premium retailers' own label ranges are all supplied through the JSR business as well. Particularly on the more recent Iberdura that we've been working on, that will be rolling out at pace for our premium outdoor products as well. That just means our eating quality is way ahead of the competition's.

[Fawn Odom Zuba, Analyst at RBC]

Very good. Thank you.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Damian.

[Damian Mcneela, Director at Deutsche Numis]

Thank you. Morning, Damian Mcneela from Deutsche Numis. I guess sort of the organic growth has been particularly strong, but we've seen good M&A come through. What does the M&A pipeline look like for the next couple of years? If you could give any color on that, please.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, I mean, there's clearly purple patches in and amongst there, and they can come thick and fast when they do.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

We're pretty selective, as you know, Damian, on that. We're very considerate when it comes to acquisition. There is a lot of M&A activity out there at the moment and a lot of potential for it, but we'll be very selective over those areas that we look at. The JSR one is extremely important for us, as was the Blakemans one as well. These are businesses that were well known to us, so we always like to have quite a lot of in-depth knowledge of those businesses. You won't see us doing anything particularly Maverick. That's not in our style. They'll tend to be in those adjacent industries that we are knowledgeable of and we have the skill set and can onboard, and we know that the management will come with it.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

We never profess to be a turnaround specialist, so we always like to take an acquisition on and make sure that we've got the skill set in-house. The Blakemans one is one such great example of that. What we can bring is a huge amount of synergies. The synergies that we're able to add to that business without cost has been quite remarkable, just on what we can do on certain things like sausage skins and those kind of elements, which we would be a large user of. We can add a lot of skill set, and we can learn the other way as well. It's not to say we get it right. We've got it right in the mothership a lot of the times, but it's a pretty well-worn path. We will be pretty selective on it.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, the M&A pipeline is quite full at the moment in terms of opportunities out there. Private equity, in particular, are looking to exit certain areas that they might not be able to get quite the return on, so we'll take a different view on a trade purchase.

[Damian Mcneela, Director at Deutsche Numis]

That's clear. Thank you.

[Andrew Ford, Equity Research Analyst at Peel Hunt]

Thank you. Andrew Ford from Peel Hunt, just a couple of follow-on questions, if I can. The first one on that volume trend and slide 20, which was really helpful. Just looking at the kind of dynamics between that with, obviously, poultry, if you take into account inflation, looks like it's been more premium-driven and pork more on the value side. How much of is that market? What's driving that sort of differential between the two in terms of the

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Price and volume?

[Andrew Ford, Equity Research Analyst at Peel Hunt]

If you look at the value number in poultry, that's ahead of the volume. It looks like there's a greater increase in premium.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

I think there's two elements to that. As Jim mentioned, number one is the new value-added contracts that came on board at the start of the year, and also the inflation through the move to lower stocking densities as well. Clearly, it costs more to produce each bird now, and that has been reflected through our fresh poultry business as well. You will see through the second half of the year that the annualization or the second half benefit of that new added value contract and continuing that theme through this year of those lower stocking densities as well.

[Andrew Ford, Equity Research Analyst at Peel Hunt]

Got it. I guess it'd be fair to say then the Fresh Pork's been more value product-led rather than premium on the side of that.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

No, I think that's just masked by the pig price coming off. Actually, we are still seeing premium growth very much in the pig meat sector. In all categories, premium is growing faster than core. It's just that you've got that adjustment for pig prices coming back on the back of feed and all the rest of it.

[Andrew Ford, Equity Research Analyst at Peel Hunt]

Okay. As an overall, I know it's difficult to do, what's the sort of premium element of the growth number, if you can do?

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

You'd have to be a better mathematician than me to do.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Unmove. I think as Jim has called out, the premium is significantly outperforming, not just in our business, but in the wider market as well. You have seen our retail customers alluding to that likewise.

[Andrew Ford, Equity Research Analyst at Peel Hunt]

Very clear. On M&A, again, a follow-on from Damien's question. Over the next sort of five years, if your growth continues the way it is and EBITDA continues to go in a certain way, that is going to be quite a big number to deploy. To a degree, there is an expectation that might get harder. Does that then mean that you either refocus M&A into more of the capacity side that you are trying to do more through CapEx, or how do you think about that on a longer-term view in terms of capital deployment? Because, yeah, it is going to get harder.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

I've got Chris two steps to the right of you there that can deploy CapEx like nobody else I've come across. No, we've got a good plan. We're not short of ideas, if you like, in terms of expanding not just our current footprint, but being very considerate on that M&A. As I said before to them, you won't see us do anything reckless in this area at all. We like building new facilities, in fairness. It takes a longer runway to get things up and running, but we're kind of getting into the groove of it now, especially poultry itself. If we could get into that space, we'd much rather build a brand new facility, although that will take longer. You get what you want. There's no compromise in there, and customers love it when we build new facilities.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

The one that we built down at Eye that we trumpeted, that was five years ago now. We should be well on with another one by now. We will be at some point in the future, but it is very much welcome by customers. You would now be talking what was a GBP 90 million investment, GBP 155 million investment, given where inflation is at. It does not deter the ambition that we have. We are very, very ambitious in that space, and we like building from new.

[Andrew Ford, Equity Research Analyst at Peel Hunt]

That is very clear. Thanks.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Clive.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Yeah, thank you, Clive. Back. Your exports are very strong. Can you maybe characterize how you see international markets, the Chinese market, relationship between China and the States and the U.K. and the European market, please?

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, I was there a couple of weeks ago, Clive. First time I have been since the pandemic, and trade is extremely strong over there.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Prices are not as flashy as they once were, as they're having a bit of a recirculation of their own pig herd. I think you'll see that being rationalized over the next 12 months or so. Relationships are quite strong. We are not encumbered by African swine fever, as you know. That's always a clear watch-out for us, and hence biosecurity being an absolute premium, because we do not have regionalization in this country unlike they do in certainly Germany and France. That will be a key watch-out for us. I've never seen relationships as strong as we have. We've got a great team over in China there, based in Shanghai. They've got great customer relations, and we've got product that's in demand there. Could we do more? I think we could. It tends to be really circumventing around the fifth quarter material.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

We should be sending pause in there from the chicken side of it. If we could get approval for that from the Food Standards Agency and the relevant authorities, that would be another key area of growth. Those, again, will be that fifth quarter element on poultry that we enjoy, if you like, on the pig meat front. We should be really exploring well, but certainly the customer relations that we have out there are very, very strong.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

The market dynamics between the continents?

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, I think what you will see in the next three to five years, both environmentally-led as well as supply chain-led, is a reduction in some of the oversupply that you've got in Germany. If you look across Europe at the moment, you'll have Spain; there's 250% in pig meat I'm referring to now. Spain will be 250% self-sufficient. Germany, about 140%. That's dropping.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

The Netherlands were 250%-300%. That's dropping because of environmental regulations, and Denmark about 200%. We're a net importer of product. We're only 50% self-sufficient. We shouldn't be. We should be greater self-sufficient, but you know that story. I've been trotting out for long enough now. If with a bit of encouragement, we should be more than that. Even on poultry, we're only 65% self-sufficient. I think you'll see those European suppliers dropping their self-sufficiency or their over-reliance on export, and it will become even more important for the U.K. to become more self-sufficient.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Which is a nice segue into, I guess, two things. First of all, do you sense U.K. retailers remain committed to British protein? And whilst appalling, do you sense the British government has got any genuine interest in food security?

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

On the first point, I've seen no example yet where they're suggesting to move away from that British sourcing. Brand standards are pretty important. I don't know whether you have a different view, Jim.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

No, I think they've been very resilient, particularly when you consider the level of the gap. The temptation is there now, and they seem to be very firmly supporting British, which is good to see.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

On the latter point, no, I'm not seeing any great example yet. Clive, I've been banging the drum, but almost the world's moving on without that interference, if you like. We're trying our very best to move the dial in terms of planning and get a more can-do attitude, but we have to take that on ourselves. I'm not sure you're going to get a great turn of tone from this government.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Probably right. Lastly, with the CapEx going up, Mark, does that mean that return on capital should maybe plateau or just a little bit while you've got a fair amount of pregnant capital?

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

I think there is always a pipeline of immature CapEx in the mix. You look at that GBP 100 million of investment that we're putting into our Fresh Pork facility, that will take time to come through. Big investments like that, and certainly the quantum that Adam mentioned in terms of a new poultry facility, that would be two years to build before we saw any meaningful returns from it. It would probably be another couple of years at least before it starts to reach anything like the group levels of return. We've got to bear that in mind.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

I think history just points to the fact that I mentioned earlier in the meeting, we've invested in over GBP 700 million across our asset base and nearly GBP 1 billion on CapEx and M&A over the last seven and a half years, and we've maintained that very strong ROCE. As a business grows and becomes more broader-based, we have that resilience from the incumbent asset base to support that pipeline of new projects.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Quickly and lastly, would you expect an unwind of that H1 working capital in H2?

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Yeah, for sure. Look, it always does, particularly we're building. As we sit here today, we're just about at the peak of our inventory working capital cycle. That will flip as we start to ship product over the coming weeks into receivables, and that will unwind as we go through into the final quarter, as it always does.

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

Sorry, you've got Dad and Charlie, the other one. Just a question about pig deflation, which you've mentioned a couple of times. I mean, is this something we should be concerned about, sort of farm and profitability going forward? I mean, are we starting to see the pig cycle, which has been sort of pretty still for a while, has that started to crank into motion at all?

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

A lot of our contracts on the farm are back to back with the retailers as well. A lot of those are on the cost of production model, particularly all the premium stuff. It is following the pig feed rather than the price of the commodities, rather than a pure supply and demand metric. However, there is an increase in pigs available on the supply and demand model.

[Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer at Cranswick]

You may see more pigs around because there has been such profitability in the agri sector. Just out of concern? I think with where we are, we're happy because we're cost plus and we're well backed up with the retailer contracts.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

We're quite nuanced at it in the business, in fairness. We'll utilize that time for maybe refurbing existing facilities. You'll see maybe a downplay in a few of our numbers going into the early part of next year or May, June time, but it's not a significant issue. It's a well-worn pattern of the pig cycle that we've experienced for 30, 40, 50 years or so. There's nothing that we'd ever concern about.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Does a GBP 0.50 gap, I think, that is in between U.K. and Europe? How sustainable is that?

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

It's not particular. The U.K. can normally carry between a GBP 0.25-GBP 0.30 pence a kilo gap, but there are periods of time when you do get gaps that can create the quite wide, not normally as wide as this, but they tend to last for a relatively short period of time. Any further questions from the floor or any from the moderators at all?

[Operator]

We have not got any conference call questions, but we have a couple of questions from the webcast. First one is from Roland French of Penman Securities. What does JSR Genetics offer you that your competitors may not be able to match? What is the proprietary edge?

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

Yeah, I'd say speed to market, the ability to react very quickly to market trends. And by market trends, these can be intramuscular fat for eating quality, or it could be genotypes that will improve food conversion ratio. It is immediacy of getting to market.

[Operator]

Thank you. A second question from Roland. How is Cranswick thinking about testing and/or deploying AI across processes?

[Mark Bottomley, CFO at Cranswick]

That is a good question. We are thinking about it like everybody else. There are lots of opportunities, whether it is in my sphere in finance or elsewhere across the business. I think it is very early days to think about it. We have talked about smart technology in our farms and across our farming business to look at how to look at feeding patterns and that sort of thing. There is certainly use of that technology already, but I think that pace will accelerate over the coming years as well. I think it is not just for us, it is for every business.

[Operator]

Thank you. No further questions from the webcast. Handing back over to you for closing remarks. Thank you very much.

[Adam Couch, CEO at Cranswick]

If there's no further questions from the floor, thank you for attending today. Please hang around and mingle if you've got any further questions for Adam, myself, Mark, Jim, or the senior leadership team. Thank you.

Participants

Executives

• Jim Brisby, Chief Commercial Officer
• Mark Bottomley, CFO
• Adam Couch, CEO

Analysts

• Andrew Ford, Equity Research Analyst at Peel Hunt
• Matthew Abraham, Vice President of Equity Research for Consumer at Barenberg
• Analyst 1
• Analyst 2
• Gary Martin, Analyst at Davies
• Matthew Webb, Equity Analyst of Consumer Goods at Investec
• Damian Mcneela, Director at Deutsche Numis
• Fawn Odom Zuba, Analyst at RBC