Nomad Foods, parent group of the Birds Eye, Findus and Iglo brands, has upgraded fourth quarter guidance as frozen foods businesses continue to benefit from the higher sales amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Fourth quarter 2020 performance is tracking ahead of management’s prior expectations, with organic revenue growth now projected to increase in the high-single digit percent range, the company said.
This comes amid a second coronavirus wave in Europe, which has underpinned higher sales of frozen foods as authorities impose lockdown restrictions aimed at combatting the spread of the deadly disease, which has claimed more than 1.5 million lives worldwide.
Organic revenue growth increased 10 percent through the first two months of the fourth quarter and is expected to remain above historical levels during the month of December.
Management now expects 2020 adjusted earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) to increase 8 percent compared with last year to €465 million ($563 million).
"These preliminary results reinforce the focus and commitment of our entire organization to perform at a high level amidst a global pandemic," Nomad Foods CEO Stefan Descheemaeker said.
The past month has brought promising news on the effectiveness of vaccines being developed by Pfizer-BioNTech, Moderna and the Oxford Astra Zeneca partnership. The first vaccinations among vulnerable groups and health workers using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine began on Tuesday.
In November, Nomad announced it entered into an agreement to acquire Findus Switzerland from Froneri International Ltd, as well as certain intellectual property from an affiliate of Nestle SA, for approximately €110 million ($130.7 million) on a debt-free, cash-free basis.
