Strong grocery performance drives growth at Premier Foods

Premier Foods on Thursday reported strong sales growth in the third quarter, mainly driven by its grocery business.

Group sales were up 12 per cent year on year in the third quarter, with branded sales growing by 8.8 per cent.

The Grocery business enjoyed a particularly strong quarter as total sales increased by 17.4 pr cent and branded sales grew by 15.5 per cent versus last year. Pricing contributed a significant proportion of revenue growth in the quarter and demand was particularly buoyant running into the key festive period, the company said.

Sweet Treats business has seen sales declining by 0.9 per cent, while the International business has enjoyed another quarter of double-digit growth, with sales up 10 per cent.

“We delivered a strong trading performance in our important third quarter, with sales growth of 12 per cent compared to the same period last year. These results illustrate the continuing appeal of our portfolio of market-leading brands in such a challenging environment and demonstrate the strength and resilience of our branded growth model,” Alex Whitehouse, chief executive, said.

“Our major Grocery brands produced a particularly good set of results for us, continuing to grow faster than the market, taking 66 basis points of share. Across the country, people got cooking again this Christmas, demonstrating that the Best Restaurant in Town really is at home. Many of our leading brands grew strongly, with established seasonal favourites including Ambrosia custard and new launches such as Bisto pigs-in-blankets gravy granules all proving very popular.

“Mr Kipling had another strong performance, with the introduction of our non-HFSS Deliciously Good Festive Pies helping to grow our Mince Pie market share. Meanwhile, our International business has now reported another quarter of double-digit sales growth, with Sharwood’s growing over 20 per cent following major new listings in Canada.”

Whitehouse said the business continues to take a range of measures to offset the input cost inflation, which remains at elevated levels.

“With strong trading momentum as we enter our final quarter of the year, and with more brand investment and new product launches to come, we are well on track to deliver on expectations for the full year,” he added.