Bountiful homegrown supply and reduced UK market prices have been blamed for Kettle Produce falling from a near £1 million profit to a significant loss.
The Scottish-based veg firm also saw a dip in turnover for the most recent financial year, according to accounts filed at Companies House. For the year ending 31 May 2014, Kettle reported a pre-tax loss of nearly £1.2m, down from a £914,000 profit in the 2012-13 financial year.
The FPJ Big 50 business’ turnover for the most recent financial year, meanwhile, fell from £101.4m to £96.2m.
Finance director Liz Waugh told FPJ: “Retail sales are down across the board as consumers become much more waste-conscious and inclined to buy little and often. This has in turn reduced appetite for promotional activity, and it would be fair to say we felt the effects, during a year when good weather also led to bumper crops.
“Our response was to look outwards and we have worked hard to establish new distribution networks at home and overseas. In many cases, this also increased pressure on margins, but we ended a challenging year in a stronger position on which to build.”
She added: “Produce-based businesses such as ours need to maintain a very flexible outlook and our management team and staff have again proven their abilities to react constructively to changing circumstances.”
Trade within the UK accounted for the bulk of the firm’s turnover in the 2013-14 financial year, with £404,200 of revenue generated in the rest of Europe.
Kettle faced particularly challenging growing conditions during the washout summer of 2012 that it anticipated would have had dire implications for its 2012-13 figures. However, it delayed non-essential investments, sourced supplies from its overseas network, fulfilled its trading obligations and met targets.
Created by two Scottish farming families in the 1970s, Kettle Produce remains family-owned and is one of Fife’s largest employers, with over 900 workers.
The firm produces around 100,000 tonnes of roots, greens and salad crops each year, working from its sites at Orkie, near Freuchie, and Balmalcolm, near Cupar.
It also has strategic supply partnerships with major growers in England, France, Spain and Portugal, and in total, there are over 6,000 hectares of crops grown across the UK and continental Europe.
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