Premier has ‘brightest outlook in a decade’: City

05-Mar-2014 - Last updated on 05-Mar-2014 at 14:52 GMT

Related tags Balance sheet Finance Management

Premier Foods refinancing deal gave the business 'the brightest outlook for a decade', said Shore Capital

Premier Foods now has “the brightest outlook for a decade”, after re-engineering its balance sheet with a major refinancing plan, says City analyst Shore Capital.

Its analysts Clive Black and Darren Shirley praised Gavin Darby, Premier’s ceo and Alastair Murray, group finance director, for their work in negotiating the long-predicted refinancing plan with adviser Ondra Partners.

The “fundamental and transformational balance sheet restructuring” created a strong platform for Premier Foods’ stock to rise significantly in value, they said.

‘Transformational balance sheet restructuring’

Preliminary results for 2013 were in line with Shore Capital expectations, said the analysts. Grocery sales reached £837M, with underlying trading profits at £145M and underlying pre-tax profit, slightly ahead of market expectations, at £86.8M.

Net debt was “healthily lower than we had anticipated at £831M”, said Black and Shirley.

Premier Foods maintained its ‘buy’ recommendation on Premier Foods Stock.

Read more about Premier Foods’ refinancing plan here.