Warburtons get plenty of dough but profits are toast
The Warburtons are in the bread, dishing out almost £12 million in dividends, despite a fall in profits and revenues at the family-owned bakery.
Warburton 1876 Limited, the bakery business’s ultimate parent company, gave out £2.3 million in dividends to chairman Jonathan, along with £3.7 million and £5.4 million respectively to cousins and executive directors Brett and Ross in 2017, according to accounts filed for Warburtons Limited at Companies House.
The maker of bread, crumpets and teacakes has seen pre-tax profits slide to £20.7 million for the year to September 30, from £34.6 million the year before.
Falling sales for its wrapped bakery goods were just about offset by non-bread products but revenues still slid to £524.7 million from £526.3 million previously.
The chairman, a fifth generation Warburton who stars in its latest TV ad with comedian Peter Kay, said: “The profit has been achieved only through the continued focus on the quality of product and development of new products.”
He warned the company operated in a very competitive grocery market and having to rely on volatile commodities — wheat, energy and foreign currency — meant “cost recovery is difficult”.
