Company Information for Associated British Foods plc

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Company Statement

Associated British Foods is a diversified international food, ingredients and retail group with sales of £6.0 billion and over 75,000 employees in 46 countries.

Our overall aim is to achieve strong, sustainable leadership positions in markets that offer potential for profitable growth. We look to achieve this through a combination of growth of existing businesses, acquisition of complementary new businesses and achievement of high levels of operating efficiency.

The group is one of Europe's largest food companies with a wide range of successful brands and products in the food sector, and an increasingly strong presence in advanced research and technology. A significant supplier of branded and non-branded grocery products and a leading textile retailer, we have significant businesses across the world.

ABF - corporate objectives

The group has twin financial goals of consistently achieving sustainable real profits growth and long-term cash generation. In pursuing these aims we focus our energies on market segments where we can establish strong, sustainable leadership positions.

Our long-term business objectives:

to grow organically and by acquisition in complementary activities
to achieve high levels of operating efficiency
to operate through a focused divisional structure in which each business:

- has an influential market position
- has sufficient scale to attract highest quality management
- has differentiated features for leveraging added value
- has potential for sustained revenue & profit growth or cashflow

ABF - business overview

Associated British Foods is a balanced diversified business operating in most of the world's main food markets.

The business features leading grocery brands and Primark, a strong retail fashion arm, where we have successfully built a name in the UK, Ireland and Spain for providing quality merchandise at affordable prices.

Over the past few years we have disposed of businesses that do not fit this strategic focus and continue to actively pursue acquisitions that will deliver the market presence we seek to meet our aims.

As a group we are also constantly searching for better, more efficient and more profitable ways to manufacture foods and ways to transfer our technology to other related sectors. Our watchwords are efficiency, quality, shareholder value and growth.

ABF - global perspective

Associated British Foods is a global food and ingredients business, with sales and manufacturing operations across Europe, Americas, Africa, Asia & China.

Total number of employees is approximately 75,000.

Advanced research and technology is a key driver for our business, and we invest in it heavily. We run a number of group-wide research facilities like the Allied Technical Centre and the Central Laboratories in the UK. Our subsidiary companies also maintain their own research facilities to carry out dedicated research for the local market, the group and the wider industry. These include facilities at ACH Foods in the US, at Weston Technologies in Australia and AB Enzymes in Germany and Finland.

For a number of years we have undertaken a far-reaching programme of efficiency improvements in our operating plants and this has been instrumental in achieving our business objectives. This initiative has also had a positive effect in improving the environmental performance of our facilities.

Wherever our operations are sited, we aim, as a minimum, to meet all relevant legislation, cut emissions, reduce energy and raw material consumption, cut waste and recycle where possible, reduce packaging, use transport efficiently and operate effective health and safety regimes.

ABF - in the marketplace

Our business is split into four segments: Grocery; Primary food & agriculture; Ingredients; Retail.

The Grocery segment encompasses a number of major manufacturers of branded and private label products. These include hot beverages; sugars & sweeteners; vegetable oils; bread & baked goods; ethnic foods; herbs & spices; meat & dairy.

Primary Food & Agriculture comprises our sugar processing business, based in Europe, Africa & China, which is now the second largest in the world, plus extensive agribusiness operations in the same territories.

Our Ingredients segment includes a global player in bakers yeast (market leader in US, South America and Asia) that also focuses on the needs of the bakery market and the supply of speciality chemicals and enzymes. In addition, the sector features a range of companies that have strong market positions in cereal specialities, emulsifiers, enzymes, esters, extruded ingredients, lactose, speciality lipids, speciality powders, speciality flours, yeast extracts, protein concentrates & isolates (whey and milk protein).

The Retail segment comprises a major value fashion retail group trading in the high street as Primark in the UK, Penneys in Ireland and Primark Tiendas in Spain.

Company Diagram

British Sugar is Europe's most efficient sugar producer and the sole processor of the UK sugar beet crop. ABF is British Sugar’s parent company.

Current Operations

Associated British Foods is divided into four segments. These are Grocery; Primary food and agriculture; Ingredients, and Retail.

Grocery

ABF is a major international manufacturer of both branded and private label grocery products many of which are household names such as, Allinson, Kingsmill, Mazola, Ovaltine, Ryvita, Silver Spoon and Twinings.

Primary food & agriculture

ABF operates at the heart of the agricultural industries in the UK & Europe, Africa and China - predominantly in sugar production. Its total sugar output places it as the second largest producer in the world.

British Sugar is Europe's most efficient sugar producer and the sole processor of the UK sugar beet crop. AB Agri is an international UK business delivering products, technology and services to the food, drink and animal feed sectors.

In September 2006 the group acquired 51% of the African-based sugar company, Illovo Sugar Ltd.

Ingredients

ABF's Ingredients segment is totally focused on high added-value ingredients for food & non-food areas. AB Mauri is a global player in bakers yeast which is a market leader in US, South America and Asia. It also focuses on the specific needs of local bakery markets worldwide by supplying industrial bakeries, artisanal bakeries, hotel and food service outlets.

The sector also features a range of companies (inc. AB Enzymes, ABITEC, Ohly, PGP International, Protient, Provesta, Proteol) that have strong market positions in cereal specialities, emulsifiers, enzymes, esters, extruded ingredients, lactose, speciality lipids, speciality powders, speciality flours, yeast extracts, protein concentrates & isolates (whey and milk protein) .

Retail

ABF has a significant presence in High Street retailing through its fast-growing Primark value fashion and clothing chain, trading from 166 stores and 4.5 million sq ft of selling space in the UK, Republic of Ireland and Spain.

Geographical Spread

ABF around the world

Introduction

World's second largest sugar producer
Major investor in UK, Polish, China and Africa sugar
A leader in bread and sugar in the UK
Major investor in China animal feed
Leading animal feed supplier in the UK
Largest purchaser of products from UK farmers
World's largest seed enhancement company
Leading global speciality tea brand
The largest producer of malt based hot beverages in Continental Europe, Thailand and China
Number two Australian food business
Number one in low calorie natural sweeteners in US
Market leader in baker's yeast in Asia and Latin America, number two in North America and number three in Europe
UK's leading crispbread brand
Leader on US corn oils
The number one supplier of noodles to the Chinese trade in the UK
A world largest in speciality enzymes
 
EU, mainly UK and Ireland

Grocery
Primary food & agriculture
Ingredients
Retail
Geographical sales 62%
Geographical profit 70%  
 
North America

Grocery
Primary food & agriculture
Ingredients
Geographical sales 18%
Geographical profit 17%
 
Australia and New Zealand

Grocery
Ingredients
Geographical sales 14%
Geographical profit 6%
 
Rest of World

Grocery
Primary food & agriculture
Ingredients
Geographical sales 6%
Geographical profit 3%
 

Board of Directors and Key Management

Executive Directors
George Weston	Chief Executive
John G Bason	Finance Director
Non-executive directors
Martin Adamson
WG Galen Weston OC
Rt. Hon. Lord MacGregor of Pulham Market, OBE
Mike Alexander
Timothy Clarke
Lord Jay of Ewelme GCMG
Javier Ferrán
Peter Smith

Company Address Weston Centre 10 Grosvenor Street London, United Kingdom W1K 4QY Telephone: + 44 (0) 207 399 6500 Facsimile: + 44 (0) 207 399 6580 Email: info[at]abf.co.uk Website: http://www.abf.co.uk

Annual General Meeting December

Year End 15 September 2007 Full Year End

Related News

29/04/08 - Associated British Foods Looks For A Chinese Sweet-Tooth, Or Two

Most Recent Statement

08/09/08 - Pre Close Period Trading Update
10/07/08 - Interim management statement
13/09/07 - Acquisition of a 20% stake in Jordans
09/09/07 - Trading Update
23/08/07 - Investment in China’s beet sugar industry
09/08/07 - Merger Update