Premier Foods Q3 Sales Down; Sees FY Trading Profit Lower End Of Market View
Premier Foods plc. (PFD.L), in its Interim Management Statement for the third-quarter ended 30 September 2014, quarterly total sales decreased 4.7% to 177.0 million pounds from 185.7 million pounds in the same period last year.
The company's underlying sales declined by 4.7% in the third quarter of the year, with branded sales 4.1% lower. Power Brands sales decreased by 5.1% although they displayed an improving trend towards the end of the quarter. Support brands included good performances from Homepride and Cadbury cake.
The company's financial position and expectations for Net debt are unchanged since the announcement of the 2014 Half Year results on 22 July 2014, aside from the update provided on Trading profit expectations for the 12 months to 31 December 2014. The Company retains its medium-term leverage target of 2.5x Net debt/EBITDA.
The company now expects Trading profit for the twelve months to 31 December 2014 to be towards the lower end of market expectations. The company said it remains committed to its category based strategy of delivering sales growth in the medium term as market conditions stabilise. It expects to achieve this through product innovation and brand marketing, while retaining a tight focus on managing costs, the delivery of Trading profit and organic deleveraging. The company believes this balanced approach is central to creating future value.(dpa)
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