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Premier Foods

PFD.L
62
Packaged Foods · Consumer Defensive
Price
200.00 GBp
+2.50 (+1.27%)
Market Cap
£1.72B
Exchange
London Stock Exchange
Winston Score
62
Winston is curious
A decent business — some strong pillars, some weaker.
Data as of Aug 23, 2026 · filings through Mar 31, 2026
How the score breaks down
Quality
Good
Growth
Good
Cash Flow
Exceptional
Stability
Strong
Valuation
Strong
Dividends
Good

Winston Score History

The full picture

Premier Foods is a British food company that makes some of the most well-known grocery brands in the United Kingdom. Its portfolio includes Mr Kipling cakes, Bisto gravy, Oxo stock cubes, Ambrosia custard, and Sharwood's cooking sauces. The company sells mainly to large UK supermarkets like Tesco, Sainsbury's, and Asda, putting it firmly in the everyday household staples market.

Premier Foods earns money by manufacturing and selling packaged food products, with revenue tied to volume sold through retailers and foodservice channels. It operates almost entirely in the UK, though it has been expanding its Mr Kipling brand into international markets including the US and Australia. Its moat comes from strong brand recognition built over decades, which gives it some pricing power on supermarket shelves. The main risk is cost pressure from ingredients and energy, which can squeeze margins when inflation rises faster than the company can raise prices.

Growth Profile

When traditional metrics don't capture the full picture, these are the signals growth stock investors use instead.

Revenue Growth

+3.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow revenue growth

EPS Growth

+0.9% YoY

YoY Growth Rate

Slow EPS growth

R&D Spend

£9M/ year

Flat (-3% vs prior year)

0.8% of revenue

Below sector average (2%)

Steady R&D investment year-over-year

Insider Activity

27.4%ownership

Flat

Insider ownership roughly steady over the past year

Cash Position

Cash flow positive

£242M cash & investments

Quarterly Free Cash Flow

↑ Burn rate improving

Company generates more cash than it spends — no dilution risk from fundraising

Growth context

Premier Foods is growing revenue at 4% year-over-year. The Winston Score measures business quality today — these growth metrics show what could matter tomorrow.

The Winston Score above measures business quality today. Growth stocks often score lower because they invest in the future rather than maximising current profits. These metrics show what matters most for evaluating that future.

Share count broadly stable

+0.7% over 4y

The share count has stayed roughly flat over this period — little dilution or buyback activity.

Diluted shares outstanding: 875.8M (2022) → 882.2M (2026)

Score breakdown

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Quality

Profit per sale
Gross Margin
38.7%
Modest — 38.7% gross margin
Profit after running costs
Operating Margin
20.3%
Excellent — 20.3% operating margin
Return on the money invested
ROCE
11.9%
Below par — 11.9% return on capital

ROIC between 5% and 15%. They earn 5 to 15 cents back per year on every dollar invested.

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Growth

Sales growth
Sales YoY
+2.3%
Nearly flat sales (+2.3% YoY)
Profit growth
EPS YoY
+6.0%
Modest earnings growth (+6.0% YoY)

Single-digit earnings growth — steady but not exciting.

How steady the profit is
EPS Consistency
6/8 quarters
Earnings grew in most of the last 8 quarters

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Cash Flow

Profit that turns into cash
Cash Conversion
136%
Turns 136% of profit into real cash
Spare cash per sale
FCF Margin
12.4%
Converts sales into free cash efficiently (12.4%)

FCF margin between 10% and 20%. Every $100 in sales becomes $10 to $20 in real cash.

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Stability

What it owes vs what it owns
Debt / Equity
0.23
Conservative — low debt load (0.23)
Covers its interest
Interest Cover
7.71x
Adequate interest coverage (7.7x)

Interest coverage between 3 and 8. Profits cover interest several times over.

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Valuation

Price vs profit
P/E Ratio (TTM)
13.0x
Attractive valuation — P/E 13.0

P/E in the normal range. Price is roughly $15 for every $1 of yearly profit.

Cheaper or dearer next year
P/E vs Forward
+1.1
GROWING
Earnings expected to grow — slightly cheaper on forward P/E

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Dividends

Dividend
Dividend Yield
1.71%
Small dividend — 1.71% yield

Modest yield. The bulk of any return needs to come from price appreciation.

Dividend record
Dividend Growth
+79.9%
Dividend growing fast (79.9% YoY)

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