Premier Foods chairman ups stake after poor quarterly performance

24th Apr 2014 16:12

The Chairman of Premier Foods on Thursday showed his support for the branded food producer after it reported a 6.2 per cent drop in its sales for the first three months of 2014. David Beever, who has held his current role on the board since June 2012, added £100,000-worth of shares to his stake, taking advantage of the cheaper share price with a 61.75p-a-share spend. The company blamed subdued grocery retail trading, a later Easter and milder weather for the fall in sales of its key brands and said trading was likely to stay tough for the rest of the year. Demand for its Loyd Grossman sauces rose in the quarter, supported by new lasagne sauce pouches, but Sharwood's sales fell due to a particularly competitive market.Sales of support brands fell 10.4% as Easter fell in the company's second quarter this year, hitting sales of Cadbury cakes.It is reducing suppliers as part of a drive to cut business costs and complexity and said the number of suppliers had fallen by more than 38% since the start of 2013 to 2,040, putting it on track to meet a target of 1,660 by the end of 2014.With the addition of 161,943 shares, Beever grew his stake in the company to 274,881. Top Director BuysCineworld Group (CINE) Director name: Mr Moshe GreidingerAmount purchased: 400,000 @ 297.89p Value: £1,191,560EG Solutions (EGS) Director name: Mr Duncan McIntyreAmount purchased: 400,000 @ 50.00p Value: £200,000Premier Foods (PFD) Director name: Mr David BeeverAmount purchased: 161,943 @ 61.75p Value: £100,000Aer Lingus Group (AERL) Director name: Mr William SlatteryAmount purchased: 21,295 @ € 1.57 Value: € 33,471Abcam (ABC) Director name: Mr Alan Thomas HirzelAmount purchased: 8,000 @ 387.89p Value: £31,031EG Solutions (EGS) Director name: Mr John BroughamAmount purchased: 60,000 @ 50.00p Value: £30,000Aberforth Geared Income Trust (AGIT) Director name: Mr Mike GreigAmount purchased: 8,452 @ 173.49p Value: £14,663Xaar (XAR) Director name: Mr Robin WilliamsAmount purchased: 1,500 @ 899.00p Value: £13,485Aberforth Geared Income Trust (AGIT) Director name: Mr Mike GreigAmount purchased: 7,124 @ 173.50p Value: £12,360Top Director SellsInterserve (IRV) Director name: Mr Adrian RingroseAmount sold: 30,000 @ 663.67p Value: £199,101Babcock International Group (BAB) Director name: Mr Kevin ThomasAmount sold: 2,741 @ 410.00p Value: £11,238NR