French fresh convenience group Bonduelle has reported strong turnover growth of 10.7 per cent for 2010/11.
Consolidated annual sales rose to €1.73bn, the company announced last week, up from €1.56bn the previous year.
The increase was partly due to changes in the scope of the group's operations, including the consolidation of France Champignon and the disposal of apple processing operations.
At constant scope and exchange rates, annual turnover growth stood at 0.6 per cent, an improvement on the 2.2 per cent decline recorded for the 12 months ended 30 June 2010.
'Turnover fell by 2.8 per cent year-on-year during the fourth quarter, penalised by lower prices on private label products, inventory shortages on some products and a shift of deliveries in Russia and other CIS countries,' the group revealed.
In addition, the fourth quarter was affected by product shortages attributable to the poor harvests of the summer of 2010, which affected the growth of the group's 'steam' range of products.
In the fresh segment, Bonduelle recorded four consecutive quarters of positive growth, despite a significant slowdown in sales, especially in Germany, due to the E.coli scare.
