Premier Foods back in profit
PREMIER Foods, the company behind brands such as Bisto and Hovis, has bounced back into profit.
In its full year figures for the 12 months to December, the group said it made a pre-tax profit of £4.4m after a loss of £259.1m last time due to a £282m impairment charge.
However, the group’s trading performance was down on last time with sales from continuing operations down 12% to £1.75bn and trading profits down 18% to £154.7m.
Over the past year the group has been focusing on its “power brands” – Ambrosia, Batchelors, Bisto, Hovis, Loyd Grossman, Mr Kipling, Oxo and Sharwood’s. Sales of these brands were up 2.1%.
Premier has a 200-strong finance and human resources base in Spring Gardens, Manchester, and a number of factories and bakeries around the region.
Chief executive Gavin Darby said: “Premier Foods has many strengths and great potential. The management team did a great job in 2012 to lay the foundations for future growth and I am very excited to be working with them to develop and grow our Power Brands in the coming years.
“It’s important now to maintain continuity and focus on executing our existing strategies to build further momentum in Grocery while re-building value in Bread.”
The group made cost savings of £48m and cut net debt to £950.7m.
