Premier Foods has today beaten market expectations for full-year profit, supported by robust growth in its grocery business, and said it was on track to meet projections for the current year.
Branded revenue in the UK increased by 13.6% last year, and CEO Alex Whitehouse said on a media call that brands in the group's grocery business now represent more than a quarter of the market in the categories in which the company trades.
Shares in the company have risen about 30% in the last 12 months.
Premier, which makes a variety of products from plain flour to cooking sauces and quick meals, expects a return to volume-driven revenue growth this year as consumers choose to eat at home rather than going to restaurants amid a high inflationary environment.
Grocery price inflation in UK has been falling lately, partly driven by an increase in supermarkets' promotional activity, industry data in April showed.
Premier said its volumes returned to growth in the fourth quarter after it introduced lower promotional price points in the quarter before.
Whitehouse said the company is currently comfortable with the average pricing of their products, and increasing prices next year is "certainly not the plan".
"We have a strong set of plans for this year across each of our strategic pillars, and with our return to volume growth, we are on track to deliver on full-year expectations," Whitehouse said.
The company posted adjusted profit before tax of £157.9m for the year to March 30, a 15.1% jump from a year before.
Analysts on average had forecast annual profit to come in at about £153m, according to a company-compiled consensus.
