The British subsidiary of the parent company of M&M’s and Snickers grew profits by almost 100% last year

In earnings filed at Companies House on Friday, Mars UK revealed that the company had a successful year, with profits rising from £105m in 2022 to £206.2m in 2023, marking an increase of almost 100%.

In addition, the company will pay shareholders a hefty £600m dividend – more than five times the payout in 2022.

The British arm of Mars attributed the huge profits to a variety of factors.

“Performance for the period reflects investment in products, brands, processes and consumer relationships as part of our ongoing strategy to reflect and adapt to anticipated changes in consumer attitudes and behaviour, as well as to increase focus on key areas of the market. ,” it said in its earnings release.

The news comes immediately after Mars Inc. of Virginia has announced that it will buy Kellanova, the giant behind popular packaged foods like Pop-Tarts and Pringles.

Kellanova was spun off from Kellogg last year, with net sales of $13 billion in 2023.

The acquisition further strengthened Mars’ snacking stronghold, a business that has seen a recent boom, particularly among younger consumers who choose to portion out their meals. In the UK, the shift to snacking has been driven by healthier lifestyle preferences and the need to indulge in smaller delicacies – benefiting from a sort of lipstick effect.

Mars has boosted its UK business through high-profile deals. For example, last year it announced it would buy Hotel Chocolat, the elite chocolate maker, for £534 million.

The deal would help the British chocolatier expand its business in the UK and globally and give Mars a new snack brand to bet on in the premium segment.

The likes of Lindt, which only makes chocolate, have had to adapt to rising production costs by raising consumer prices to fuel their business growth. Mondelez, another Mars competitor that makes Oreo and Cadbury chocolates, has also resorted to price hikes to absorb rising operational costs while delivering results.

Meanwhile, some of Mars’ chocolates have fallen victim to shrinkage due to some of the same factors.

The Mars family has raked in billions from its sprawling snack and pet food business. Six of the dynasty’s members are on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, with their net worth ranging from $12 billion to $49.2 billion.

The representatives from Mars did not return wealthhis request for comment.