Mr Kipling owner Premier Foods delivered profits ahead of expectations last year, as branded sales grew by 5.2% to exceed £1bn.

For the 52 weeks to 29 March 2025, the British food manufacturer’s headline trading profit increased by 6% while adjusted profit before tax jumped 8.8% to £169.3m.

Total headline grocery branded sales rose by 4.6% over the period, while sweet treats branded sales increased by 7.3% and UK branded sales grew by 4.4%.

Across new categories, sales soared by 46% with “good progress across all initiatives”, led by Ambrosia porridge pots.

Subscribe to Grocery Gazette for free

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

Acquired brands The Spice Tailor and FUEL10K also performed well, with both delivering double-digit sales growth.

Premier Foods chief executive Alex Whitehouse said: “Our premiumisation strategy continues to be highly relevant, reflecting the trend for consumers to trade up and treat themselves to ranges such as our Ambrosia Deluxe and Mr Kipling Signature Bites, both of which delivered very strong revenue growth this year. Our Nissin noodles again achieved double-digit sales growth, taking yet more market share and benefitted from the addition of big pots and Demae Ramen to the range.

“In addition to the strong financial performance, we have also made progress against all the pillars of our growth strategy; we significantly increased capital investment in our manufacturing sites this year, delivering improved efficiencies and providing the platform for future growth.”

Looking ahead, Whitehouse said the business expects sales growth to be supported by a strong product innovation programme, with forecasts for trading profit growth unchanged.

He added: “In line with our capital allocation framework, we will continue to invest in projects to both increase efficiencies and automation and facilitate growth through product innovation and capacity while we also remain focused on pursuing M&A opportunities where we can add value to brands through the application of our branded growth model.”