Wales' biggest company has just got even bigger and here's why

It employs more than 20,200 people and Wales' biggest company, Iceland Foods, has just got even bigger.

The business, which has its head office in Flintshire with stores across the UK, as well as in the Republic of Ireland and the Czech Republic, said that total sales in its last financial year to the end of March, 2017, were £2.79bn, up 4.4% on the previous year.

And like-for-like sales, which don't account for things like new store openings, rose 2% on the year.

Its net pre-tax profit was up from £66.7m to £72.8m.

In the 2016 WalesOnline Wales Top 300, Iceland was the biggest companies in Wales on turnover.

Factors that boosted the firm's performance on sales included:

• It opened 28 new stores, including 24 larger stores under its Food Warehouse brand.
• Net stores, after taking account of openings and closures, was 21, giving a total of 902.
• It achieved further growth in online sales and was again voted the UK's best online store.
• It enjoyed particular success in frozen fish and seafood sales.
• A record Christmas trading period.

Chief executive, Malcolm Walker, said: "The set of strategic initiatives we began in 2015, with the aim of differentiating Iceland, changing consumer perceptions and so restoring growth to our business, bore fruit in the year under review.

"Like-for-like sales performance improved throughout the year to make us one of the UK’s fastest-growing food retailers by the year-end.

"We increased the pace and enhanced the quality of our new product development and opened a new £2m development kitchen at our head office in Deeside to drive further improvement.

"After a record Christmas, Iceland ended the financial year with its best-ever product offer, strengthened management, high morale and growing confidence in our ability to achieve continued growth by simply being ourselves: a unique British business focused on innovative and exciting food, with a commitment to contributing to the communities in which we operate."

During the year the business donated £3.3m to good causes through the Iceland Foods Charitable Trust.

How's the business been doing since March?

Iceland said it has made a "solid start" to trading in its current financial year, with the first quarter to date benefiting from a late Easter.

It said it has also re-refitted five Iceland stores in its new format, in Greater London, North Wales and Northern Ireland. And it will roll the new concept out across the country as part of and ongoing programme of store refurbishment.

Price pressure and Brexit

However, it said that fall in the value of pound since the Brexit vote last summer, has created inflationary pressures.

Mr Walker said: "The fall in the international value of sterling since the EU referendum last June has created upward pressure on some food prices, and on packaging and distribution costs, for us as for all other UK food retailers.

"We continue to work with our suppliers to mitigate these pressures as far as we can, so as to minimise the impact on consumers, but the economic environment will clearly remain uncertain until we achieve clarity on the timing and nature of Brexit.

"Nevertheless, we are confident of our ability to meet our internal targets for EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation) and cash generation in the current year.

"Iceland continues to plan and invest for the long term."