12th Nov 2019 09:15
(Alliance News) - Premier Foods PLC said Tuesday it swung to a profit after a rise in revenue and a fall in debt in what the Mr Kipling cakes maker said was a "better first half than planned."
Shares in St Albans-based Premier Foods were 8.8% higher at 36.28 pence in London on Tuesday.
For the six months ended September 28, the food maker swung to a GBP15.0 million pretax profit from a GBP2.2 million loss the year prior. This was after revenue rose to GBP366.7 million from GBP358.0 million the year before.
Profit performance was helped by finance costs falling to GBP22.0 million from GBP32.9 million the year prior. Net debt fell to GBP470.7 million from GBP509.5 million the year prior.
"In presenting my first set of results as CEO of Premier Foods I'm encouraged by our strong start to the year with total revenue up 2.4% and branded revenue ahead 4.3%," Chief Executive Officer Alex Whitehouse said.
"Our biggest brand, Mr Kipling, has continued its momentum from last year, with sales growth of 8% while sales of our Nissin branded ranges have more than doubled," Whitehouse added. "We have launched a number of new product ranges including our new plant-based brand Plantastic and our International business returned to growth in the second quarter."
"Our operational strategy is unchanged, but we now have increased energy and impetus," Whitehouse said. "We are targeting some largely operational cost savings over the next two years."
"With a better first half than planned, we are confident in our expectations for progress in the full year," Whitehouse added. "As we look a little further ahead, and in light of our disciplined and consistent track record of net debt reduction, we start to see options for our future deployment of cash."
By Ahren Lester; [email protected]
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