New products and productivity improvements bear fruit for Patties

Frozen food company Patties Foods has delivered an upbeat forecast for the second half as the results of its productivity push and new product development come to fruition.

Patties said it expected its profit in the second half of the 2013-14 financial year to at least match that of the prior year thanks to a recently completed robotic packing equipment project, new product development, price increases and cost containment.

The news came as Patties reported a net profit of $8.75 million for the six months to December 31, which was 3.3 per cent lower than the prior corresponding period.

It also announced a 0.9 per cent increase in sales revenue, despite the loss of a major frozen fruit private label contract.

The company said that though conditions had been challenging, it continued to see “opportunities for improvement in many areas”.

"Productivity optimisation remains a core focus, with particular emphasis on manufacturing efficiencies driven by capital investment and our continuous improvement programs," Patties acting joint chief executive Michael Knaap said.

His fellow acting joint CEO, Tim Peters, said the company was continuing to grow and protect its core iconic brands and their market leading positions.

“We have heightened our focus to innovate high quality products to create consumer demand and are excited by the plans in place for the next 12 months.”