We have published our accounts for our financial year ending May 2025, showing turnover at £1.3bn and an EBITDA loss of £1.9m, a significant year on year improvement. Overall financial performance reflected residual costs from the significant turnaround programme in the previous financial year continuing into the first half of 2024/25. The second six months however, demonstrated the benefits of the programme as financial performance improved significantly.
Commenting on the results, Chris Hall, Avara CEO stated, “Our trading and financial performance over the second half of the financial year made this a true ‘year of two halves’. The costs associated with our business restructuring continued to impact on the first half of the financial year, but we turned a corner mid-year and started to reap the benefits of the difficult decisions we made.”
Our turnaround plan started in 2024, implementing a strategy focused on fewer, better invested facilities: to optimise their operational footprint and drive improvements in efficiency and productivity. Alongside the operational transformation, indirect costs were reduced, despite maintaining a strong people focus and delivering key commitments in environmental sustainability, food safety, and welfare.
During the year we also successfully transitioned to a lower stocking density on all supplying broiler farms, operating to 30kg per square metre, below both the UK legal standard (39kg) and Red Tractor Assured standard (38kg). This has led to a further improvement across a range of welfare outcomes, delivering consistent best in class performance and supporting our ongoing commitment to continual improvement.
Hall reflected “Our financial improvement is of course pleasing, but we are also delivering against a number of other important commitments. Reducing carbon emissions ahead of our approved science-based targets, the successful delivery of lower stocking densities and the launch of new colleague engagement initiatives including our Regional Colleague Councils, are just some of the ways we have delivered against our promise to be a responsible business."
The UK market remains healthy; underpinned by population growth and consumer trends for a natural source of healthy affordable protein with local provenance.
Hall continued, “We have put the strong foundations in place for a return to sustainable margins and have built on this in the current financial year. Looking forward; demand for our products is strong, we have improved our financial position, and our streamlined operations are delivering for our customers – thanks to the hard work and dedication of the talented teams throughout our business.
Our strong financial management through this period meant we finished FY25 with full headroom in banking facilities and positive EBITDA cash generation. This upward trend has continued into FY26 and means we are now confidently investing in our Supply Chain and three year Business Plan.”
