MGP Ingredients Hit by Slowing 4Q Growth in Food Ingredients

11 Mar 2016 --- MGP Ingredients has reported that its income has fallen in the fourth quarter from $7.6 million to $6.5 million year-on-year, after suffering from a slower growth across its Ingredients Solution division.

Gus Griffin, president and chief executive of MGP Ingredients, said: “Our Ingredients Solutions segment had a very strong year overall, but slower growth rates in the second half indicated that realizing the long-term potential for this segment may occur at a slower pace.”

For the full year in 2015, sales at the protein and starch maker increased 4.5 percent to $327.6 million and net income was up 10.6 percent to $26.2 million.

Sales for Ingredients Solutions over the year came in at $57.4 million, up one percent.

The nudge up in sales was driven by higher sales of speciality wheat starches which were up 6.3 percent while profits were also helped by lower raw material costs than the year previous.

But sales across Ingredients Solutions fell 7.1 percent to $12.8 million in the fourth quarter while profits fell threefold to $0.6 million.

However, the distillery side of MGP Ingredients reported a stronger fourth quarter, with sales increasing 10 percent to $68.7 million. 
Overall, in 2015 sales for its Distillery Products unit jumped from 5.3 percent to $270.2 million.

Griffin added: “We are starting to see the benefits of our targeted investments, which should ensure that we can fully support the growth of the whiskey category.”