Jack Brand has reported an annual profit of £139,097 in the 12 months to 30 September 2022, taking the company back into the black following a year of substantial losses. An operating loss of £871,030 was reported in the previous year.
Sales were also up, from £17.3 million in the year to September 2021, to £22.1 million in the year to September 2022.
The company described 2022 as ‘surprising’ in its strategic report, citing the impact of the war in Ukraine forcing up prices of key inputs, and the hottest summer on record, which put significant pressure on poultry farms. The war caused a European-wide shortage of live birds, which initially benefitted Jack Brand, because imported frozen fillet was initially no longer available from Poland and the Netherlands, because the birds were initially supplied from Ukraine. The company, which trades on the wholesale market, therefore saw several months of increased demand.
This was then followed by increased costs of grain, fuel and energy. Staff shortages became worse during the year, meaning the firm was increasingly reliant on expensive agency drivers.