London, Nov. 12 - British food maker Premier Foods announced a further increase in bread prices on Monday and said it remained on course to meet market expectations for the full year, as it sees stronger trading during Christmas season.
Premier Foods said group sales for the four months to end-October were significantly ahead of last year thanks to the acquisition of Campbell's and RHM late last year, while revenue from its core Premier business rose by around 3 percent.
"We are pleased to have achieved further bread price increases to offset higher wheat costs but we anticipate that our bread volumes will continue to be affected whilst a disparity in retail prices between the main bread brands remains," Britain's biggest food maker said in a statement.
The price increase follows a previous hike announced by the group in early September for its Hovis bread, as bread makers seek to limit the damage from a near doubling in the price of wheat over the past 12 months.
"Raw material and packaging inflation is a significant issue across all parts of the business. We continue to make significant progress in delivering the price increases necessary to mitigate this cost inflation," it said in a statement.
It said sales by the Bread Bakeries division for the four months to end-October were moderately ahead of last year due to the price rises.