Quarterly sales jump at Premier Foods

Premier Foods posted a jump in first-quarter sales on Thursday, boosted by strong demand overseas for Mr Kipling cakes.

The FTSE 250 food group, which makes branded and non-branded groceries, cakes and sweet treats, said sales in the 13 weeks to 29 June rose 5.3% to £239.3m.

Within that, non-branded sales fell 8.8% to £25.5m. But branded sales jumped 7.3% to £213.8m.

International sales were especially strong, rising 24% as Mr Kipling was rolled out across 800 stores in Canada and The Spice Tailor meal kits launched in Germany.

Group sales were further boosted by new categories, Premier noted, including Ambrosia porridge pots and Angel Delight ice cream.

Alex Whitehouse, chief executive, said: "We’ve delivered another quarter of strong branded sales, demonstrating the strength of our portfolio and the effectiveness of our branded growth model.

"As we look 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.

"We expect to see more volume-led branded sales growth in the coming quarters, further progress overseas and our expectations for the full-year remain unchanged."