International food and retail group Associated British Foods plc (ABF) has released its 2023 annual financial results for the 52 weeks ended 16th September 2023.

ABF owns grocery businesses such as Blue Dragon, cereal brands Dorset Cereals and Jordans, as well as Kingsmill, Patak’s and Silver Spoon.

It reported group revenue of £19,750 million, an increase of £2,753 million when compared to its 2022 revenue of £16,997 million.

Its adjusted operating profit was £1,513 million, increasing year-on-year by £78 million. Adjusted profit before tax sat at £1,473 million, an increase of £117 million year-on-year when looking at the 2022 profit of £1,356 million.

ABF reported a total net debt of £2,265 million, an increase on 2022’s £1,764 million.

In its performance review, ABF stated that it had seen “resilient growth” in the Group adjusted operating profit, reflecting “strong performance” in a demanding environment. ABF said it had seen good growth in Grocery and Ingredients, but lower profitability in its Agriculture category due to “tough market conditions”.

It also reported that its Sugar sales were “well ahead”, and that it had made good progress on ESG priorities.

George Weston, chief executive of ABF, said: “At the outset of this financial year the Group was facing very significant economic challenges caused in part by major geo-political events. Looking back on the year, it is clear to me that the Group performed extremely well and is as a result now well positioned for the year ahead.

“Profitability in our food businesses moved ahead as a result of the appeal of our products and the strength of our brands, both of which supported us in the recovery of high levels of input cost inflation without disrupting our customer relationships.

“Our food businesses are also in very good shape, and our Sugar business especially should see much better profitability in the year ahead.”