Griffin's Foods, the maker of Gingernuts, MallowPuffs, and Huntley & Palmers crackers and Eta brand snacks, last year posted its biggest annual profit under Australian private equity owners, who have no plans to cash up in the immediate future.
Net profit more than doubled to $20.5 million in calendar 2012 from $8.2 million a year earlier, according to holding company NZ Snack Foods Holdings' financial statements lodged with the Companies Office.
That's the biggest bottom line profit posted by the biscuit maker under Pacific Equity Partners' ownership that started in 2006, and the highest since 2003, when it reported under different accounting rules.
Griffin's lifted sales 6.2 per cent to $293.4 million in 2012, while finance costs dropped 30 per cent to $15.5 million, the lowest since PEP bought the company and replaced about $100 million of intercompany debt with about $234.5 million in bank loans.
The company's bank debt peaked in 2008 at $311.2 million, and was $234.6 million as at December 31.