The Greenery has reported a €2.9 million fall in net profits in the 2011 financial year, citing the “substantial one-off effect” of the E. coli crisis as the cause of the decline.
The Dutch fresh produce giant said the drop in net profit from €4.8m in 2010 to €1.9m was partly due to the €6m the E. coli crisis cost the company, as well as poor summer weather and a total sales volume fall of around six per cent.
It linked the fall in sales volume to Russian border closures and fruit and vegetable growers’ yields per square metre averaging 27 per cent lower in 2011 than in 2010.
Turnover in the period was €1.61 billion, compared to €1.84bn in 2010.
Despite what it called a “turbulent” year, The Greenery reduced operating costs by 2.9 per cent by adopting new supply chain management measures.
In a statement The Greenery said: “The lower sales volume, combined with the low sales prices, put pressure on the operating result. The lower operating costs and higher profit from participating interests contributed to the positive net result.”
In 2011 the business integrated activity at its Maasland and Bleiswijk sites and decided to close the Venlo site later in 2012.
In the statement, The Greenery added it aims to reinforce further its market strength by basing its market approach on product specialisation.
“The Greenery will consequently continue to develop its international sourcing strategy in 2012, and intensify its co-operation with local producers within its major sales markets. Continued focus will be placed on introducing new products and concepts, such as the recently introduced Red Egg and seedless bell pepper, as well as on category management, consumer communication and to expanding sustainability policy further,” the company stated.
It is now hoping to build greater partnerships with its retail partners to increase supply chain efficiency and is optimising its product flows thanks to a new IT system.
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