Britain's Premier Foods has reported a rise in first-quarter sales on the back of strong branded sales growth, and maintained its forecast for the year.
First quarter group sales were up 5.3% compared to the same quarter the previous year, while branded sales were up 7.3%.
The company has seen continued growth and demand for its grocery business, with more shoppers buying its brands.
'We expect to see more volume-led branded sales growth in the coming quarters,' the company said.
Analysts, on average, are expecting trading profit for the year at £183 million (€217.77 million) on a revenue of £1.15 billion (€1.3685 billion) according to a company-compiled consensus.
Premier Foods, whose products also include Bisto Best meat-free gravy, said group sales for the first quarter ended June 29 rose 5.3%, to £239.3 million (€284.77 million), from the previous year.
'Strength Of Our Portfolio'
“We’ve delivered another quarter of strong branded sales growth, yet again demonstrating the strength of our portfolio and the effectiveness of our branded growth model," commented Alex Whitehouse, chief executive. "During the quarter, we have gained both value and volume market share in Grocery and Sweet Treats, as more shoppers bought more of our leading brands, delivering good volume growth across our categories."
Whitehouse added that Mr Kipling, Nissin and The Spice Tailor were "standout performers" in the period, as Premier Foods continued to launch new products – sales from new categories increased by 68%, led by Ambrosia porridge pots and Angel Delight ice-cream.
“As we look forward to the rest of the year, we have a strong set of marketing and product innovation plans for our brands in the UK and Ireland, while we continue to build distribution internationally," he added.
Additional reporting by ESM
