Hovis keeps Premier steady

29th Jun 2009 07:06

Hovis to Branston Pickle maker Premier Foods's trading this year has continued on track, with sales of bread especially described as excellent.The heavily indebted group, which raised £379m through a cash call in March, said sales in May and June were in line with the trends in the first four months of 2009. "Sales in our bread business continued to see excellent sales and market share growth as we continued to invest behind Hovis. Although sales of bulk flour were lower than last year due to the previously announced exit from a low margin flour contract, bulk flour profitability has been unaffected, it said.Elsewhere, Premier said grocery sales continued to see good growth driven by 2008 price rises. Meat substitute Quorn sales were strong, but profitability reduced by the high level of marketing investment and manufacturing costs.In May, Premier stated that sales over between January and April rose by 3% and by 6% underlying. "Our expectations for sales and profit for the half year and the full year are unchanged," it added today.