Food company Goodman Fielder says the outlook for retail trading conditions in both Australia and New Zealand remains challenging with continuing pressure on product volumes and pricing.
Chief executive Chris Delaney said that, given the environment, the company will continue to focus on cutting costs, improving efficiencies and reducing debt.
He said the company has an increasingly diverse business in the Asia-Pacific region with significant leverage to the growing markets of Asia.
Mr Delaney said the company's earnings in New Zealand were stable on the prior year despite a very tough operating environment.
He said Goodman Fielder is beginning to see the benefits of restructuring after it effectively merged three businesses into one leading to an improved cost structure, significantly better customer relationships and market execution throughout New Zealand.
Mr Delaney said Australia remains a challenging market with a very competitive retail environment.
He said there has been an improvement in the second half which provides greater confidence about the current year and beyond.
Goodman Fielder reported a $A102.5 million net profit for the year to the end of June, a turnaround from the near $A147 million loss the previous year.
