Food and beverage firm Monde Nissin Corporation is sending its Chief Operations Officer, Michael Stanley D. Tan, to its UK-based meat alternative business, which has been facing financial challenges, to make it more efficient.
In a disclosure to the Philippine Stock Exchange, the firm said Tan had been seconded to Monde’s fully-owned indirect subsidiary, Marlow Foods Ltd., which is responsible for Monde’s meat alternative business under the Quorn brand.
Monde said Tan has been seconded to Marlow Foods “for purposes of lending full-time to the Meat Alternative Business his expertise on manufacturing excellence and product supply/supply network management.”
It added that Tan’s new role is “for a period extendable up to February 25, 2029 as business exigencies may dictate.”
Monde Nissin Chief Executive Officer Henry Soesanto said last November 2024, “Given the continued challenges in the Meat Alternative business, we plan to streamline costs and simplify operations through a restructuring and business transformation that will affect all parts of the organization.”
“Alongside this, Marco (Bertacca) has decided to step down as the CEO of Quorn Foods as he believes that the next phase of the business will benefit from new ideas and renewed energy. I thank him for his hard work during a very difficult time including the COVID pandemic,” he said.
Soesanto added “Marco will be succeeded by David Flochel, who has successfully led the transformation of several food and beverage businesses. David has recently joined us and will take over responsibility as CEO in January.”
“We are targeting our Meat Alternative business to be EBITDA positive in 2025 with a total cash savings of GBP 8 million in 2024 and 2025 and we expect recurring annual cash savings of GBP 8 million.
“The cash cost to implement will be approximately GBP 8 million in 2024 and 2025, which will be partially funded from the restructuring savings. We believe these actions will put the business on a stronger footing and better set up for future success,” he noted.
Monde Nissin expects consolidated core net income to increase by over 25 percent for 2024, with consolidated core net margin expanding by more than 200 bps compared to the same period last year.
“Meat Alternative business’ EBITDA (earnings before interest taxes, depreciation and amortization) was neutral for the full year,” the firm said.
It added that, “Our Meat Alternative business continues to operate in a challenging environment, as we expect an approximate mid-teens sales decline year-on-year on a constant currency and comparable basis for the fourth quarter, partly due to fewer selling weeks compared to last year.
“We expect to achieve positive EBITDA in the fourth quarter despite the ongoing topline weakness.”
Quorn Foods reported that revenues declined by 6.5 percent and 9.1 percent on a comparable and constant currency basis in the first nine months and third quarter, respectively, as category softness continues.