Baxters Food Group has reported an annual loss after booking £9.5 million of exceptional costs.
Audrey Baxter, executive chairman, said that the charges had occurred at its operations around the world. That included moving Australian production into one site, headcount reduction in Europe, the closure of a retail store in Scotland and start-up costs in the United States relating to a contract making own-brand products for Walmart.
The exceptional costs meant Baxters reported a pre-tax loss of £675,000, compared to a £4.7 million profit for the prior ten months. Annual accounts for Baxters show turnover was £296.7 million for the 12 months to April 1, 2017. The United States is now responsible for around half of all revenue.
Ms Baxter said the company had shown a strong financial performance in a period of “significant transition”.
The company has recently moved its headquarters to Edinburgh but retains a significant presence in Fochabers, Moray, where George Baxter founded the company in 1868. Staff numbers declined around 5 per cent to 1,463.
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Baxters is best known for its Scottish soups, condiments and preserves but its interests now span the globe and include the Fray Bentos range of tinned pies and the Wornick Foods rations for the US military.