Iceland-based food company Bakkavör Group has reported a dramatic loss of £98.45 million, compared to a profit of £10.41m in the same quarter of 2007.
Loss for 2008 amounted to £154.2m, compared to a profit of £47.36m in 2007, fuelled in part by a £58.5m loss last year on its short-lived investment in Greencore, which it was forced to sell in October as the Icelandic financial sector struggled heavily.
For the fourth quarter of 2008, ending December 31, net sales were £412.53m, up 11 per cent from £372.30m in the corresponding period of 2007. Underlying like-for-like sales growth was 5.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2008.
The company reported a turnover of £1.6 billion for 2008, up 10 per cent from £1.47bn in 2007. Underlying like-for-like sales growth was 1.9 per cent in 2008.
But the company reported that job losses could be less than the 400 announced in January at its south Lincolnshire factories - Bakkavor Spalding, Exotic Farm Produce in Kirton and Freshcook in Holbeach St Marks.
Spalding Today reports that of the jobs originally at risk, half of those were at the West Marsh Road, Spalding site.
Some of those under threat of redundancy have been allowed to apply for positions recently created at the site after a consultation with staff.
A spokesman said: "We are pleased with how the consultation process has progressed and while we cannot give out numbers at this time, we anticipate that the total number of redundancies, including compulsory redundancies, is less than our original estimate."
Commenting on the results Agust Gudmundsson, ceo of the Bakkavör Group, said: "In what are difficult operating conditions for many companies, we have secured funding across all of our operating businesses, strengthened our trading operations and maintained our sales performance despite the slowdown in consumer spend."
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