Premier Foods' Mr Kipling brand saw sales grow 12% last year, following its successful brand relaunch in the UK.
Group revenue was up 0.6% for the full year, to £824.3 million (€948.6 million), while trading profit rose by 4.5% to £128.5 million (€147.7 million), according to the group's preliminary results for the full year to 30 March.
“Premier Foods has delivered consistent progress over the last two years, growing Revenue, Trading profit, Adjusted earnings and reducing Net debt," said Alastair Murray, acting chief executive officer.
Murray, highlighted that Ambrosia, Batchelors, Sharwood’s and Soba brands also displayed healthy growth.
'Plantastic'
Murray said that Premier Foods has plans to launch an exciting new brand, ‘Plantastic’, using plant-based ingredients, in response to current consumer trends.
He predicted that the group, "expect our International business to return to double digit growth in the coming year."
Looking Ahead
This year, Premier Foods plans to invest in both capital expenditure projects and consumer marketing, it said, focusing primarily on its five biggest brands.
"While the first half of FY19/20 is expected to be slower than last year, reflecting the timing of marketing investment, we expect to make further progress over the next twelve months thanks to our continuing pipeline of new product innovation and strong customer relationships," Murray added.
The company noted that a strategic review of the business is 'ongoing', with an update to follow in due course.
He concluded: "We remain focused on reducing our levels of Net debt and expect to deliver a similar level of debt paydown in the coming year.”
© 2019 Checkout – your source for the latest Irish retail news. Article by Donna Ahern. Click sign-up to subscribe to Checkout.
