Premier has ‘brightest outlook in a decade’: City
As we moved out of the winter and into March, City analysts detected a touch of spring in Premier Foods’s financial prospects – hailing the best outlook for a decade.
Shore Capital analysts Clive Black and Darren Shirley praised Premier’s leadership team 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.
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.
Read more about Premier Foods’ refinancing plan here.
