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Chairman’s Statement
statement CHAIRMAN’S
Having entered an economically challenging year yet again in 2015, the Company exited it on a high note. Following further rationalization of the business which included discontinuation of several products, larger capital investment and centred focus on key growth areas, we ended the year with 11 per cent sales growth in the last quarter. For the full financial year, revenue rose by three per cent, compared with 10 per cent growth in 2014 and 42 per cent growth the year before that. Gross margin however, improved from 34.2 per cent to 35 per cent.
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All our Purity and Miss Birdie product lines – bread, baked snack items, specialty rolls, Easter buns and pastries – recorded volume growth during the year.
We doubled our advertising and promotions spend from $8.5 million in 2014 to $16.8 million last year, in order to sustain brand awareness.
Our results were achieved through our core strategies of containing cost and increasing visibility, while promoting healthy eating and lifestyles to our consumers.
Economic challenges, such as depreciation of the Jamaica dollar against the US dollar, and contraction of the local economy, negatively impacted sales as consumer purchasing power weakened. However, we continued to ramp up investment in new equipment, increased our sales and marketing efforts, and maintained an affordable price for our consumers. The contribution of our Board of Directors throughout the year were critical to our success and I thank them for their commitment to good governance and to the success of Consolidated Bakeries.
To our management team, I say thank you for your expertise, as well as your commitment to performing at high levels, enabling us to deliver strong results. I also extend gratitude to all the members of the team for your efforts during another year of challenging conditions.
A special thank you must also be expressed to our valued shareholders and customers who continue to stand with us. We thank you for your support and belief in our brands.
Vincent Chang
Chairman
