Bisto and Mr Kipling parent Premier Foods saw group sales rise 1.9% in the first quarter of the year, with branded sales up 0.8%, the company said in a statement.
Premier Foods noted that this marks the fourth consecutive quarter of sales growth, and that its expectations for the full year remain unchanged.
Sales were up by 1.9% in its Grocery division, with good performances from its Bisto, Loyd Grossman and Ambrosia brands.
“We are very pleased by the further improvement in our sales performance, which demonstrates four consecutive quarters of growth and continued momentum in the business," said chief executive Gavin Darby.
"Our category strategy of investing behind our brands continues to deliver results, despite the wider deflationary grocery market in the UK.
"While the economic environment is more uncertain following the EU referendum outcome, our immediate financial exposure is expected to be limited. Given our strong brands and UK manufacturing cost base, we believe we remain well placed to make progress and our expectations for the full year remain unchanged.”
Commenting on its performance, Shore Capital's Clive Black said, "Today's update reveals welcome steadiness from an operating perspective in this respect, although the sales pressure is still on, noting that there should be a benefit to come from the £8m step up in marketing year-on-year (to £44m), the potential from the Nissin tie-up in CY2017, further progress with internationalisation (5% Q1 sales growth) and progressive de-leveraging."
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Stephen Wynne-Jones. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
