French poultry processor LDC has reported a 4.6% rise in operating profits for the financial year to February 29, 2016, but is forecasting a slight fall in operating profits for its 2016/17 financial year.
The company’s caution, looking forward, is due to concerns about the impact on its business of raw material costs and the effect of “uncertain consumption levels”.
For the moment, however, LDC’s 2015/2016 performance saw the business advancing to an operating profit of €158.6m (£121m) from the previous year’s €152.9m (£116.75m).
In addition, despite its declared “prudence” in relation to profit expectations for 2016/17, the company has already programmed investments totalling €180m (£137.5m) in the next financial year. This is in line with its “robust financial structure” based on a growth in equity from €797.2m (£608m) to €907.4m (£692.5m) in the last 12 months.
The business has also set its sights on securing a significant increase in market share, based largely on replacing imported products on the French market, which currently account for 40% of total chicken consumption.
LDC’s poultry division is 100% based on French production, working with more than 1400 farmers around the country whose combined poultry buildings represent nearly 2 million square metres. The company provides its farmer suppliers with more than 600,000 tonnes of feed a year. LDC’s partnerships with egg producers, meanwhile, enables it to sell more than 500 million eggs a year.
