ST ALBANS, UK: The UK's biggest food manufacturer, Premier Foods, says profits for 2007 will be in line with forecasts, and that intense competition and rising costs of raw materials will have a strong impact on trading in 2008.
The company - whose brands include Hovis, Oxo and Branston - expects profits for 2007 to land between a lower limit of £274 million ($538m; €367m) and an upper total of £289m.
Taking into account its purchases of RHM and the British and Irish arms of Campbell Soups, sales were up 3% in the second half of 2007, reversing a decline during the first six months of the year to produce an annual improvement of 1.4%.
Data sourced from MediaGuardian.co.uk; additional content by WARC staff
