The Kitwave Group has reported that trading during the six months up to the end of May was in line with its expectations despite weaker demand in hospitality-related revenue, which impacted the foodservice division’s performance at the end of last year.
However, trading in the Foodservice division did improve towards the end of the Period as hospitality-related revenue recovered prior to Easter. The revenue performance of the Retail & Wholesale division was said to be robust.
The half year period saw the opening of the new Foodservice distribution centre in the Southwest and Kitwave took the short-term decision to incur some additional costs as it invested above the level that it had initially planned in service delivery.
Read more: Kitwave continues growth strategy with £60m Creed acquisition
This investment was claimed to be made to protect customer service during the transition. Except for these costs, the Group’s remaining cost base remained in line with expectations and includes the increased depreciation levels from fleet investment over recent periods.
Ben Maxted, chief executive Officer of Kitwave, commented: “It has been a good first half in terms of trading and operational performance, with the Group on track to meet its full year expectations. The integration of Creed is progressing well, with the team working to maximise delivery efficiencies to be gained from our national network and, ultimately, using our expanded scale to benefit our independent customers. We remain focused on delivering value to our customers and shareholders, and we look forward to updating the market further when we release our half-year results.”
