Premier Foods third-quarter sales rise as brands improve (updated)
16/01/2018 08:23
(Adds details, analyst comment, shares)
By Martinne Geller
LONDON, Jan 16 (Reuters) - Premier Foods PFD.L , owner of
Mr Kipling cakes and Oxo stock cubes, reported higher
third-quarter sales on Tuesday, helped by further improvement in
its brands, sending its shares up more than 3 percent.
The company said sales rose 4 percent to 261.4 million
pounds ($360.3 million), with sales of its own brands up 0.7
percent and products it manufactures for retailers' brands
rising 17 percent.
The results beat some analysts' forecasts.
Jefferies analysts, who were expecting only 2.8 percent
growth, pointed to a 3.4 percent gain in the company's core
branded grocery business, its second straight quarter of
improvement.
The company said its expectations for the current year were
unchanged and that net debt at the end of 2018 will be lower
than last year.
A weekend newspaper report said Premier Foods was in talks
to sell its Batchelors brand to Japan's Nissin Foods 2897.T ,
its biggest shareholder with a nearly 20 percent stake.
On Monday, the company said any talks with third parties it
has had as part of an ongoing review had not gone beyond an
"exploratory stage". urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL8N1PA263
The company has struggled under a heavy debt burden and
pressure from investors after it rejected a takeover bid in 2016
from McCormick MKC.N .
Its shares were up 3.9 percent at 0822 GMT.
($1 = 0.7256 pounds)
(Reporting by Martinne Geller; editing by Louise Heavens and
Jason Neely)
((martinne.geller@thomsonreuters.com; +44)(0)(2075420797;
Reuters Messaging: martinne.geller.reuters.com@reuters.net))
Keywords: PREMIER FOODS RESULTS/