LONDON (ShareCast) - (Sharecast News) - Volvere said in an update on Friday that it expects to report a 73% increase in group profit after tax to £4.78m for the year ended 31 December, driven by improved trading at its main operating subsidiary, Shire Foods, and increased finance income from cash deposits.
The AIM-traded firm said group profit before tax from continuing operations rose to £6.27m, up from £3.64m in the prior year.

Revenue from continuing operations increased 14% to £48.97m, with all revenues attributed to Shire Foods, in which Volvere holds an 80% stake.

A small loss of £0.02m was recorded from discontinued operations, compared with a profit of £0.23m in 2023.

Group net assets rose to £41.84m at year-end, up from £37.51m a year earlier, while consolidated net assets per share excluding non-controlling interests increased to £17.19 from £14.83.

Cash and available-for-sale investments totalled £27.84m, compared with £23.74m the prior year.

The group also repurchased £1.51m of its own shares during the year.

"I am delighted with the performance for the year as a whole, which was underpinned by strong trading at Shire Foods and good returns on our treasury deposits," said co-founder and director Nick Lander.

"This is reflected in our increasing cash reserves, notwithstanding the significant treasury share purchases in the period.

"As we reported in the group's interim results in September, there are industry-wide challenges in the form of increasing labour costs in 2025 because of the increase in the minimum wage, further compounded by the increase in employer's National Insurance."

Lander said the effect on Shire would be both internal and external, the latter from rising supply chain costs such as raw materials, packaging and transportation.

"We are continuing to mitigate cost rises where we can, but our customers themselves are under acute pressure as the large supermarkets battle for market share.

"However, there is, we think, an expectation that food price inflation is inevitable during 2025 as retailers pass on cost increases to consumers.

"In spite of all of this, we expect the business to deliver a creditable performance in the context of this challenging wider environment and are investing in additional capacity to support growth, in particular for 2026 and beyond."

Nick Lander said the company was continuing to review potential acquisition opportunities across all sectors.

"Whilst no transaction of interest has been identified for further investment, we remain committed and poised to do so for the right proposition."

Volvere said it would publish its audited full-year results on or around 23 May.

At 1027 GMT, shares in Volvere were up 7.22% at 1,930p.

Reporting by Josh White for Sharecast.com.

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