“退欧”与三明治的经济账

距离英国“退欧”公投仅剩不足5周的时间，全民辩论愈演愈烈，这次发声的是食品行业的大佬：英国最大的三明治制造商，要知道英国可是号称“日不落三明治王国”。

测试中可能遇到的词汇和知识：

generate 发生；生殖['dʒenəreɪt]

contingency 偶然性；[审计] 意外开支[kən'tɪndʒ(ə)nsɪ]

negotiate 谈判，商议；转让[nɪ'gəʊʃɪeɪt]

better off 经济状况好的，富裕的；明智的

be committed to 致力于；以…为己任

dividend 红利；股息；[数] 被除数['dɪvɪdend]

grocery 食品杂货店['grəʊs(ə)rɪ]

Uniq 曾是英国玛莎百货最大的三明治供应商

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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.

请根据你所读到的文章内容，完成以下自测题目：

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?

a. Ireland

b. China

c. Japan

d. America

4. Which of the following can’t be inferred about Brexit and Greencore?

a. There may be supermarket price war after Brexit.

b. Coveney will be very gloomy if the UK leave the EU.

c. All companies need time to adjust.

d. The size of the US business will enlarge well in the 10 years.

[1] 答案c. Ireland

解释：爱尔兰三明治制造商Greencore占据了英国的一半市场，英国几乎也是这个公司的全部收入来源。

[2] 答案a. production costs rise

解释：Greencore的董事长认为，“退欧”会造成生产成本的上升，同时希望能够有时间去适应和调整。

[3] 答案d. America

解释：Greencore希望可以在美国复制在英国的“成功”，并且有了星巴克和7-11这两个重要的客户。

[4] 答案b. Coveney will be very gloomy if the UK leave the EU.

解释：Coveney对于英国“退欧”对公司的影响并没有那么悲观。