The company behind the Seabrook crisps brand has cautioned that Chancellor Rachel Reeves' Autumn Budget tax increases will affect its profits this year.
The Cheshire -based º£½ÇÊÓƵ division of Japanese conglomerate Calbee highlighted the rise in the National Living Wage and employers' National Insurance contributions, which took effect in April, as significant challenges the brand will confront for the remainder of 2025, as reported by .
The producer of Seabrook also anticipates grappling with escalating raw material costs – such as potatoes and oil – in addition to labour.
Nonetheless, the brand anticipates an increase in its turnover during the current financial year and also predicts an improvement in its operating profit.
The firm's concerns about the repercussions of Reeves' tax increases have been incorporated into its latest accounts for 2024, which have been submitted to Companies House.
For the year, the maker of Seabrook reported a turnover of £71.6m, up from £66.3m, while its pre-tax profit declined from £6m to £5.2m.
City AM disclosed last year that the company planned to expedite its major investment plans after its profit nearly doubled in 2023.
Seabrook is based in Bradford and was purchased by Calbee in October 2018, having previously been 75 per cent owned by LDC and 25 per cent by the management team.
Calbee's brands also encompass Harvey Snaps and licenses Peppa Pig products.
Seabrook maker looking to get back on track
The board of Calbee Group º£½ÇÊÓƵ released a statement acknowledging: "2024 proved to be a challenging year for Calbee Group º£½ÇÊÓƵ driven mainly by a delay in a large capacity expansion project at the Bradford site and ongoing cost pressures."
The company highlighted key areas of financial strain, stating: "On the latter, potatoes, oil and labour were the key cost challenges faced in the second half of the year, with most raw materials increasing and we expected this trend to continue into 2025, especially given the increase in the National Living Wage and employers' National Insurance contributions."
The firm noted that the expansion of its Bradford site was its largest ever project, resulting in a significant boost to its crisps production capacity. However, the maker of Seabrook crisps admitted it had "experienced some delays through the commissioning phase which meant our stock position was under huge pressure throughout the summer and into Christmas," impacting its sales performance in the fourth quarter.
The group conceded that its operating profit delivery was "hampered by these commissioning issues which drove waste losses and poor labour recovery vs norms" from September to December, typically its most profitable period. Looking ahead, the Seabrook manufacturer optimistically stated: "As we move into 2025, our service out of Bradford has now fully recovered and we are consistently delivering a weekly service level, in line with customer expectations out of both production sites."
"Recovering cost and getting back to delivering a consistent service level in 2025 will enable the business to get back on track quickly, and with new capacity available, a strong new product development pipeline and a strengthening brand, we expect to continue our sales growth in 2025 and see operating profit return to levels more typical of our historic performance."
Starting its journey as a fish and chip shop in Bradford back in 1939, Seabrook made waves when it delved into the crisp-making business in 1945.
