Goodman Fielder suffers 77% profit drop

Goodman Fielder has revealed it suffered a 76.9% drop in profits over the last 12 months. The company cited increased costs, reduced selling prices due to competition and natural disasters as factors contributing to its declining profits.

2010 profits stood at just over $93 million, while 2011 profits dived to $21.5 million. The company has called the 2011 figures “unacceptable”.

Nonetheless, the company remains optimistic. In the half-year report, CEO Chris Delaney, said, “Compared to the prior half (H2 FY11), the company’s revenue and normalised EBIT both showed significant increases (5.7% and 4.6% respectively), signalling the start of our turnaround journey.

“Nevertheless, we recognise that the financial performance of the company is still unacceptable, but we are confident that we are beginning to work our way back towards providing acceptable returns for shareholders.”

The company claims to be on target to achieve $40 million in savings over the next two years.