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New Zealand
The national economy remained steady,
though food deflation set in following a drop in
dairy prices. However, strong growth in retail
spending and tourism were beneficial for our
business.
All divisions put in a strong performance and
maximised opportunities in a buoyant final
quarter.
Revenue grew 12,8%, with trading profit
topping the NZ$50 million milestone
(21,0% increase).
The strong result was driven by focused
application of the core strategies of category
development and specialisation. At the same
time, timely infrastructure investment created
the capacity to maximise market potential
in key areas such as Auckland, Tauranga,
Whangarei and Queenstown.
Margins and working capital were generally
well managed. The dollar value of inventories
rose, a function of the growth of higher value
categories such as meat.
Debtors management and collections were
focus areas. Returns, excluding the effect of
property investments, rose to record highs.
In the final quarter we disposed of our retail
operations and acquired two businesses.
The first acquisition, Freshex, is a Hamilton-
based small produce wholesaler. The other,
Fire ’n Ice, is the New Zealand manufacturer of
the NaturalAZ range of sous vide products.
Distribution vehicles
916
2016:
227 751
2015:
220 696
Total water usage – kilolitres
Several land purchases were made during
the year, creating capacity for expansion in
Hamilton, Timaru, Invercargill and Hobsonville.
In addition, a move is planned into a new
purpose-built distribution centre in Nelson.
At divisional level, Foodservice put in a highly
pleasing performance with strong results at
all branches. The strategy of developing key
centre-of-plate and fresh produce categories
paid dividends.
The Fresh division also performed strongly.
Despite market volatility, margins were
generally steady. Expense management was
rigorous. The export team achieved good sales
growth.
At Logistics, the strong performance was
driven by good ice cream sales, heightened
focus on the route trade and exceptional
growth by a key customer in the QSR space.
Processing more than doubled its profit and
the Christchurch Butchery showed substantial
improvement.
In the year ahead, New Zealand will strive
to maintain momentum. The focus on the
free trade market will intensify, specifically in
specialist centre-of-the plate categories. Steps
will be taken to further improve the processing
business. Development of our new sous
vide product range and our range of repack
products is envisaged.
Further acquisition opportunities will be
explored.
Fuel usage – kilolitres
Diesel (excl biodiesel) usage
2016:
8 733
2015:
8 355
Gasoline (petrol) usage
2016:
743
2015:
810
Product segmentation
Frozen
42%
Chilled
26%
Ambient
28%
Non-food
4%
42
26
13
16
66
5
28
4
32
26
43
42
15
38
4
57
29
Market segmentation
Logistics
13%
Chain
16%
Independent
66%
Retail/other
5%
42
26
13
16
66
5
28
4
32
26
43
42
15
38
4
57
29
E-commerce is an important part of this modern infrastructure and is
constantly evolving, with experiences and know-how shared throughout
the company, the key objective being the enhancement of customer
service experiences.
2016:
R30,3 bn
2015:
R28,2 bn
Pro forma revenue
2016:
R1,8 bn
2015:
R1,5 bn
Pro forma trading profit
4 037
2015:
4 098
Total employees for 2016
Distribution centres
Total
70
m
2
228 857
Divisional reviews
Bidcorp Limited Annual integrated report 2016 |
Page 23