Premier Foods beat expectations as its full-year profits and sales have soared, boosted by expansion into new product categories.

In the year ending 30 March, sales the FMCG giant – which makes brands including Bisto, Mr Kipling and Homepride – jumped 15.1% to £1.12bn, while pre-tax profits soared 34.7% to £151.4m.

The group said it saw strong branded volume growth in the fourth quarter and it expects that trend to continue in its current year.

Leading brand Ambrosia performed particularly well to become Premier Foods’ fourth £100m brand, driven by its premium Ambrosia Deluxe range and its extention into breakfast through new porridge pots.

Premier Foods said its expansion into new categories was also underpinned by the success of Ambrosia, with sales growing by over 70%.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

Sign up here to get the latest grocery and food news each morning

Other noteworthy brand successes include an extension of the distribution of Angel Delight ice cream, Cape Herb & Spice and Oxo Marinades.

Chief executive officer Alex Whitehouse said: “This has been another really strong year for the business with considerable progress across all our key financial metrics and five pillar growth strategy.”

“Our brands continue to demonstrate their relevance to consumers, helping them cook and prepare nutritious and affordable meals during what has been a challenging time for many people. All our leading brands benefitted from increased marketing investment, as we extended our ‘Best Restaurant in Town’ campaign into its second year.”

“We have a strong set of plans for this year, across each of our strategic pillars and with our return to volume growth, we are on track to deliver on full year expectations.”