Marlow Foods Reports Mixed 2024 Results, Halves Losses Amid Retail Slump
Marlow Foods, the parent company of Quorn and Cauldron Foods, has reported a mixed bag of results for 2024. While sales fell by 9% to £187M, the company managed to nearly halve its post-tax losses and saw improvements in certain areas.
The company's quick-service restaurant (QSR) sales increased by 3% to £6M, driven by successful partnerships with KFC in Europe and Greggs in the UK. Meanwhile, the Marlow Ingredients brand for B2B customers saw revenues rise by 33% to £400,000. The foodservice category also performed well, with sales up by 2.5% to £28.6M.
However, the retail space saw an 11% drop in sales, where Marlow Foods holds a 32% market share. The company attributed this decline to the continued decline in the meat-free retail category in the UK and US markets due to the cost-of-living crisis. Despite this, the company's cash on hand increased by 21% to nearly £21M in 2024.
Marlow Foods initiated the 'Transform to Win Together' plan to increase operating agility, cost efficiency, and return the business to profitability. While the company's annual underlying gross profit was 7% lower in 2024, supply chain cost control increased the underlying gross margin from 0.3% to 21%. With recent leadership changes, including CEO succession from Graham Beales to Bowler-Jones, the company is optimistic about its future prospects.
