Premier Foods sales surge to £197m

Premier Foods, a food manufacturer, has reported a sales increase of 6% to £197m over the three months to 2 July, compared with the same period two years ago.  

The company, which owns brands such as Mr Kipling, Ambrosia, Batchelors and Oxo, said it is on track to deliver full year expectations as a result of recent trading.

Sales in the group’s core grocery division increased by 6.3% over the quarter, with Batchelors and noodle brand Nissin performing “particularly well”.

Premier Foods said: “Good value meal solutions [are] proving increasingly popular as household budgets become ever stretched.”

The group’s Sweet Treats division increased by 5.1%, with branded sales up 3.3% and non-branded sales 26.8% higher than last year.

Its international sales lifted by 12% and saw a strong performance in Australia.

Alex Whitehouse, CEO of the group, said: “We have made good progress in recovering our input cost inflation through a range of measures, including cost efficiencies and pricing, and we continue to monitor the situation closely.

“Consumers are increasingly looking to cook tasty, affordable meals at home; this fits well with our broad portfolio of brands and was illustrated by the strong performance of Batchelors and Nissin in the quarter.

He added: “With this positive trading momentum behind us, we remain firmly on track to deliver our expectations for the year.”