Premier Foods reported strong revenue and profit growth for its financial year 2020-21, mainly driven by the the rise in home cooking during Covid-19 lockdowns.
The firm has also reinstated dividend after 13 years, proposing 1p per share.
“This has been an outstanding year for the business with very strong financial metrics across the board. We have reduced our leverage to 1.9x EBITDA3, repaid £190m of our Floating Rate Bonds saving approximately £10m in interest costs and entered into a transformational new pensions agreement. As a result, we are pleased to be reinstating dividend payments for the first time in 13 years,” Alex Whitehouse, chief executive, said.
Branded revenue was up 13.6 per cent in full year, reaching £934.2m, and trading profit increased 11.9 per cent to £148.3m after increased marketing investment and incremental Covid costs.
“Throughout the year, we continued to drive our branded growth model, launching a series of new product ranges, including many healthy options such as Sharwood’s low sugar stir fry sauces and increasing marketing investment with six of our major brands benefitting from TV advertising. This, along with a robust performance from our supply chain, ensured we delivered growth ahead of the market,” Whitehouse said.
The firm has seen the sales of its brands online more than doubling, leading to further market share gains. In overseas markets, the firm has posted double digit growth in each quarter and 23 per cent in the full year.
Whitehouse said the company will be looking to enter new categories in the UK, along with scaling up overseas businesses and exploring the opportunity for appropriate bolt on acquisitions. He added that they are confident of delivering on profit expectations this fiscal year.
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