Announcing its half year results for the six months to June 30 Premier Foods has said that trading profit increased 2.1% in challenging markets to £48.1m.

Premier Foods is the UK’s largest food producer and owns brands such as Bachelors, OXO, Loyd Grossman and Bisto.

Sales at the business were 6.1% lower over the period due to challenging market conditions in our categories. However it says a strong second half programme of consumer marketing and new product introductions.

Premier Foods have said continued progress on cost reduction and business simplification and trading profit expectations for the full year unchanged.

Gavin Darby, Chief Executive Officer, said: “I’m pleased to report a modest increase in trading profit in the first half of the year, despite a fall in sales volumes which reflects the challenging market conditions in our categories.

“We are adapting quickly to the changing external environment through retaining a tight control of costs and margins and have a strong programme of consumer marketing and new product introductions planned for the second half of the year. Assuming normal weather patterns, we expect an improved second half branded sales performance and our Trading profit expectations for the year remain unchanged.

“Following an update of our category plans, we remain convinced of the medium and long-term potential for our brands to deliver profitable growth. We plan to continue investing in innovation, marketing, our supply chain capabilities and our people to create long-term shareholder value.”