Premier Foods quarterly sales rise for first time in two years

By Martinne Geller

LONDON (Reuters) - Demand for products like Oxo seasonings and Bisto gravy helped Britain's Premier Foods (PFD.L) to report its first quarterly branded food sales gain in two years, sending its shares soaring by 16 percent on Tuesday.

The company, which has stepped up its marketing spending, also cited the rollout of new products under its Loyd Grossman and Sharwood sauce brands and Mr Kipling and Cadbury cake labels.

Its shares enjoyed their biggest one-day gain in four years, after Premier reported a 1.6 percent rise in branded food sales in the quarter to Oct. 3.

It forecast a similar gain, of between 1 and 2 percent, for the 2016/2017 fiscal year as well.

"The big news is that we're growing for the first time in a couple years and we're guiding that we'll continue to grow," Chief Executive Gavin Darby told Reuters.

Overall, revenue rose 2.4 percent to 175 million pounds in the quarter, well above the estimates of some analysts, including Jefferies, which had forecast a 0.4 percent decline.

Premier stuck to its full-year profit expectations, saying that while sales will rise, profit will be flat due to increased marketing spending.

As part of this, Premier is planning a trial of its Mr Kipling cakes in 250 U.S. supermarkets later this year. The brand has been familiar to British households for almost 50 years.

The company also announced a new brand, Paul Hollywood premium baking mixes, which Jefferies said showed a growing ability to capitalise on consumer trends. Hollywood is one of the judges on the popular BBC TV show "The Great British Bakeoff".

(Reporting by Martinne Geller; Editing by Louise Heavens and Keith Weir)