UK food manufacturer Northern Foods today [Thursday] reported underlying like-for-like sales up 3% in the first 11 weeks of its second quarter.
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The company said that underlying sales growth had been slower in the second quarter due to “tougher prior year comparatives” and total sales continued to be impacted by disposals.
Sales to the company’s five largest customers – Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Sainsbury’s, Asda and Safeway – increased by 0.5% in the period under review, the group said, with underlying sales to the same customers ahead by 5.5%.
In a statement to investors, Northern Foods said that first half results would include the exceptional profit arising on the sale of the Ski and Munch Bunch brands to the UK subsidiary of Swiss giant Nestlé. As anticipated, on a normalised basis, the disposal will be earnings negative in the first half with operating profit foregone of £5.3m (US$8.3m) compared to an interest cost reduction of some £3.6m.
The group said that performance in the third quarter would be key to the outcome for the full year, but that indications so far were encouraging. Product launches heralding the start of the important autumn trading season are progressing well and demand for the Christmas programme appears robust.
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