Blue Ribbon owner Premier Foods reports 32.4% leap in profit

The Premier Foods group (Premier FMCG) has posted an 'encouraging set of results' for the half year to end-September 2024, despite operating in what it called a challenging environment.

The owner of well-known brands Snowflake, Iwisa and Blue Ribbon, reported growth of 3.7% in revenue to R9.7 billion.

Operating profit increased by 17.3% to R945 million.

Headline earnings per share (HEPS) jumped by 32.4% to 438 cents per share.

The Group will declare its full-year dividend upon release of its FY2025 results in June next year.

Premier said the improvement in operational earnings was driven by a continued focus on margin management, cost saving initiatives and the delivery of material operational efficiencies across channels. 

Ongoing commitment to their strategy of investing in their assets is also paying off, says Group CEO Kobus Gertenbach.

He notes that investment in their facilities amounts to R6 billion over the last 13 years.

"The efficiency that we continue to drive out of those facilities - and on the distribution side the efficiency with which we get the product to market, has really helped us in this period where consumer spending's been under pressure and not really driving significant volume growth for us."

Kobus Gertenbach, CEO - Premier Group

While selling staple products is an advantage, this is also a highly competitive market in South Africa.

At the same time, their brands have made their mark, Gertenbach says.

"Snowflake has become an iconic brand; Blue Ribbon has changed the game on bread quality... and the consumer has supported us a result of that."

Kobus Gertenbach, CEO - Premier Group

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