Convenience food group Greencore recorded a double-digit fall in sales for the first quarter of its 2021 financial year due to the ongoing COVID-19 related restrictions in place in the UK and Ireland. Announcing a first quarter trading update on Tuesday, Greencore stated total group revenue for the three month period to the end of December was down 15% year-on-year to just under £313m (€352m).

Greencore saw the sharpest decline in its food-to-go business, where first quarter sales were down 22% year on year to £188.5m (€212m). Greencore’s food to go business includes products such as sandwiches, salads, sushi and chilled snacks. Greencore is the largest sandwich maker in the UK and Ireland.

While a 22% drop in food to go sales is still significant, the sales declines are not as bad as those seen the first COVID-19 lockdown, when Greencore’s food to go sales collapsed by over 50% in April and May 2020.

In contrast, the group’s convenience food division, which includes its range of prepared meals, chilled soups and sauces, has been much more resilient with first quarter sales down just 2% on last year to just over £124m (€140m).

Trading conditions

"This has been another challenging period for Greencore,” said CEO Patrick Coveney.

“Although the difficult trading conditions are likely to persist in the near-term, we remain confident that demand for our food to go categories will recover strongly as the effects of COVID-19 recede and mobility restrictions are removed,” he said.

Coeney added that Greencore has been able to secure a number of new contracts in the quarter and now had a “healthy commercial pipeline” for the coming year.