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Premier Foods, the maker of Mr Kipling cakes and Oxo cubes, generated quarterly sales beyond its pre-pandemic levels but fell short of its coronavirus-driven revenue a year ago when its customers were kept at home.

The group now forecasts its adjusted full-year profit before tax will be at the top of its expectations.

Its shares rose nearly 4 per cent in early London trading on Friday, improving its gains in the past 12 months to 28 per cent.

First-quarter group sales rose 6.3 per cent, better than the FTSE 250 group’s 5-6 per cent expected range, when compared with the same period two years ago, Premier Foods said in a trading update on Friday.

Sales at the provider of old-fashioned grocery staples however fell 13.2 per cent in the 13 weeks to July 3 from the same period a year ago, “when UK households consumed the majority of their meals at home”, the update said.

The pandemic has helped Premier turn round its business, which had been battling pressure from activist investors. Customers during the coronavirus crisis have turned to the comfort of its well-known brands such as Bisto gravy and Batchelors dried foods.

Branded sales rose 9.3 per cent in the latest quarter, highlighting that its “brand-building model is delivering consistent growth”. But non-branded sweet treats were down 16 per cent from a year ago and showed a similar decline compared with 2019. Branded groceries took a 19.6 per cent hit from a year ago.

Demand online stabilised, “retaining most of the gains from last year”, with digital sales similar to 2020 levels and nearly double that of two years ago.

Branded sweet treats increased from a year ago, with the Mr Kipling line up 7.5 per cent, while “healthier options ranges, such as Sharwood’s low fat cooking sauces”, said chief executive Alex Whitehouse, “have grown at over twice the rate of our branded portfolio as consumers continue with . . . healthier eating habits.”