Bega Group Finds Buyer For Peanut Assets In Move To Save 30 Jobs

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Australia’s Bega Group has recovered a purchaser for its peanut processing assets but still plans to spell up and adjacent nan business.

Bega announced successful July it would shutter nan Peanut Company of Australia (PCA) and its factories successful Kingaroy and Tolga successful Queensland successful a phased mode complete an 18-month period.

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The institution said coming (11 September) it is optimistic that astir 30 of nan 150 jobs astatine consequence will beryllium saved aft it reached an statement to waste nan land, buildings and instrumentality astatine nan 2 sites to Crumpton Group.

Crumpton Group is simply a family-owned agri-food business successful South Burnett, besides successful Queensland. It is engaged crossed nan accumulation process, from shelling, roasting and processing to nan proviso of earthy peanuts to customers successful nan Australian market.

After launching a reappraisal of PCA past year, Bega reached nan conclusion that it could not “establish a sustainable business model” for nan operations.

“Continued financial losses and manufacture challenges led to nan request for nan reappraisal and yet nan conclusion that nan business would beryllium amended served by a alteration to much section and focused ownership aliases successful nan absence of that being achieved, unluckily a closure,” Bega said successful July.

CEO Pete Findlay said today: “While it was ever our penchant to waste nan Peanut Company of Australia, we are pleased that nan land, buildings and instrumentality located successful Kingaroy and Tolga will stay successful section hands.”

Bega said it has worked pinch Crumpton Group to effort and prevention immoderate of nan affected jobs, pinch immoderate success, but different it will beryllium paying redundancy money to nan remaining staff.

Findlay added: “Bega Group remains committed to supporting its group done this modulation and has worked pinch Crumpton’s to place up to 30 imaginable roles pinch Crumpton’s for its impacted workforce.”

While financial specifications of nan statement pinch Crumpton Group were not disclosed, nan waste of nan assets is expected to beryllium completed successful December followed by a modulation to nan caller proprietor successful June adjacent year.

Sonie Crumpton, 1 of nan family’s business owners, said: “The acquisition of these assets will let america to amended service Australian peanut growers successful each regions moving forward. We will soon beryllium successful discussions pinch peanut growers regarding nan coming season.”

A spokesperson for Bega told Just Food successful July that nan business closure affects only PCA’s “raw” peanut processing operations, pinch peanut food accumulation continuing astatine Port Melbourne.

Bega has besides been trimming assets elsewhere. In May, nan institution announced nan closure of its cheese processing and packaging installation successful Strathmerton successful Victoria.

And early successful 2023, nan group said it would adjacent its beverage manufacturing works successful Canberra, pinch accumulation relocated to a tract successful Penrith, New South Wales.

Bega issued its yearly results successful August for nan twelvemonth to 30 June, pinch statutory profit figures affected by nan restructuring connected pinch its caller plus sales, including works and instrumentality impairments related to nan PCA closure.

Statutory EBITDA roseate 0.2% to A$165.5m ($109.3m). The business slipped to nonaccomplishment of A$8.5m from a profit aft taxation of A$30.5m a twelvemonth earlier.

Revenue based connected that measurement climbed 0.5% to A$3.54bn.

On a normalised basis, EBITDA accrued 23.1% to A$202m, while profit aft taxation was a affirmative A$50.8m, up 74%.

Earnings per stock came successful astatine 16.6 Australian cents versus 9.6 cents.