David Pattison, Senior Analyst at Plimsoll, said "The aim of this analysis is to give a better understanding of the different management styles that make up the industry. Is it safer to be the company increasing sales by 15% yet making a loss? Or the company with declining sales that yields a 5% margin? Perhaps neither approach is right or wrong, it is just their behaviour that is different."

Each company is analysed through the Plimsoll Model. The basis of the Model is that the character of a company is shaped over time. The Plimsoll Model measures the ability of a company to balance the risk between financial strength and sales growth.

The Model simplifies the complexity of up to four years of audited company accounts and allows, through a series of 7 charts per company, an at-a-glance understanding of the character of a company. The key is to look for areas of strength and weakness in a company easily noticeable in the accounts and in the charts.

This method of analysis works equally well on every one of the 157 companies in the analysis including the 78 companies presented with full accounts and the 79 companies with partial accounts. In fact, no company escapes Plimsoll's unique financial rating system due to the standardised format of the analysis.

For further information or to order the Exclusive Market Analysis: Vegetable Processors for A3305, including free next day delivery, call Plimsoll on 01642 626400 or visit www.plimsoll.co.uk. Claim a 5% discount as a Foodfen subscriber when mentioning this article upon ordering.