One of the UK’s biggest food brands, Premier Foods, has seen its profits grow by more than £47 million thanks to what it describes as exceptional demand during lockdown.
The company, which owns the likes of Oxo, Bisto and Mr Kipling, released its half year results for the 26 weeks ending the 26th September 2020 which revealed profits had jumped by 50% to £47.7 million.
Premier Foods also attracted 1.1 million new customers in this period, which also saw its online performance increase by 112%.
The news follows the announcement of the company’s sale of Hovis to private-equity firm Endless, generating an extra £37.3 million.
Alex Whitehouse, CEO of Premier Foods, said: “In the first half of the year, demand for our branded product ranges has been exceptional, particularly in our grocery businesses which have helped deliver strong profit growth.
“Looking to the second half of the financial year, we expect to see continued revenue growth driven by further new product innovation, strong commercial plans and increased marketing investment for our brands, with six major brands planned to be advertised on TV.
“We also now expect to see an increase in demand for our brands due to the impact of recently increased Government restrictions on eating out. The longevity of this increased demand is likely to be linked to the duration of these new measures, and although we have tougher comparatives in the fourth quarter, we anticipate that trading profit for the full year will be ahead of current market expectations.”
