“退歐”與三明治的經(jīng)濟賬

所屬教程:金融時報原文閱讀

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2020年08月04日

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“退歐”與三明治的經(jīng)濟賬

距離英國“退歐”公投僅剩不足5周的時間，全民辯論愈演愈烈，這次發(fā)聲的是食品行業(yè)的大佬：英國最大的三明治制造商，要知道英國可是號稱“日不落三明治王國”。

測試中可能遇到的詞匯和知識：

generate 發(fā)生；生殖['d?en?re?t]

contingency 偶然性；[審計] 意外開支[k?n't?nd?(?)ns?]

negotiate 談判，商議；轉(zhuǎn)讓[n?'g????e?t]

better off 經(jīng)濟狀況好的，富裕的；明智的

be committed to 致力于；以…為己任

dividend 紅利；股息；[數(shù)] 被除數(shù)['d?v?dend]

grocery 食品雜貨店['gr??s(?)r?]

Uniq 曾是英國瑪莎百貨最大的三明治供應(yīng)商

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Irish sandwich maker Greencore plays down Brexit （441words）

By Vincent Boland in Dublin

* * *

Greencore, the Ireland-based group that supplies half of all the sandwiches sold on British high streets, played down the implications of a possible Brexit but warned of difficulties triggered by the supermarket price war.

Patrick Coveney, chief executive, said the group’s production costs would almost certainly rise if the UK left the EU — but expected companies would have time to adjust.

Greencore generates almost all of its revenue in the UK market.

Mr Coveney said it had a contingency plan in place in the event of Brexit but added: “I think the need for that is somewhat overstated — there will be time to adjust” as the substantive issues of a UK exit were negotiated.

“My personal view is that the food industry is better off in the EU than outside it, and a decision to leave would drive up the cost of production,” he said.

He said Greencore was committed to the UK market regardless of the decision on June 23.

Greencore reported a rise in its revenue, operating profit and interim dividend for the first half of its financial year despite a “difficult” UK grocery environment where prices were driven down by fierce competition.

First-half revenue rose 7.5 per cent to ￡692m and the company predicted that the trend would continue in the second half.

“We have very good growth momentum,” Mr Coveney said. “We think we have the balance right between our near term performance and our strategy of growing the business.”

Shares in Greencore were 1 per cent lower at 382.8p in mid-morning trading on Tuesday.

The group has expanded rapidly in the UK convenience food market in recent years since its acquisition of Uniq in 2011. It now produces one in every two sandwich rather than one in four. Mr Coveney said Greencore’s food-to-go business grew by 13 per cent in the six months to March 25, compared with 5.6 per cent for the market as a whole.

Greencore is hoping to replicate its UK market position in the US, where it has begun a big investment programme in the convenience foods sector to supply its two main customers — coffee chain Starbucks and convenience store operator 7-Eleven.

The US unit produced a “modest loss” in the first half mainly due to high start-up costs at a facility in Rhode Island, but Mr Coveney said the expectation was that it would be profitable in the second half.

He said the aim was to turn the US operations into a $1bn-a-year business within five to 10 years, through a combination of organic growth and acquisitions, making it roughly equivalent to the size of the UK business today.

請根據(jù)你所讀到的文章內(nèi)容，完成以下自測題目：

1. Where is Greencore’s headquarters?

a. British

b. America

c. Ireland

d. France

2. What would happen to Greencore if the UK left the EU as Coveney said?

a. production costs rise

b. mass layoff

c. selling prices rise

d. quit the supermarket price war

3. Where is the next strategic market in Greencore’s plan?