McBride says first half sales should beat expectations

The company says that particularly favourable growth in its markets in France and Italy for both personal care and household care are helping to drive results, as more and more consumers throughout Europe continue to trade down to cheaper private label products.

Likewise McBride has also been boosted by favourable exchange rates. The Great British Pound has hit historical lows against the Euro in the past six months, achieving virtual parity on a number of occasions.

Profitability boosted by cost-cutting​

Likewise, profitability is also expected to be boosted during the period, due to the fact that the company has continued to focus on operating costs and moving the product mix towards higher value business.

The company said that due to these circumstances it is also expecting that operating profit in the first six months of the year will ‘exceed expectations’.

“Whilst overall market conditions are challenging, consumers continue to seek the great value that private label can offer. We are ideally placed to benefit from this trend,”​ the company said in an official statement.

Results go from strength to strength​

McBride is due to publish the full trading results for the six month period ending December 31 2009 on 4 February 2010.

Initially McBride had forecast that profits for its financial year 2010 would increase by £6m compared to last year, at about £4.2m.

In the financial year ending June 2009, the company reported a 13 per cent increase in sales to ₤792.4m, of which it said 4 per cent was down to organic growth and the rest currency translation.