Princes Group profit rises as margin expands amid Italian food growth

(Alliance News) - Princes Group PLC on Thursday said its profit climbed in the first quarter, helped by a strong rise in demand for Italian food products.

The Liverpool, England-based food and beverage firm said adjusted earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation jumped 17% to GBP38.2 million in the first quarter from GBP32.7 million, while the margin widened to 7.5% from 6.8%.

Revenue climbed 5.9% to GBP506.6 million from GBP478.3 million. Revenue growth was supported by "recent perimeter enlargement", including Princes France SAS, Newlat GmbH and Plasmon.

Revenue in the Italian Products division jumped 44% to GBP115.0 million from GBP79.9 million, while Foods revenue edged down 0.1% to GBP159.7 million and Fish revenue was 0.7% lower at GBP89.3 million.

Drinks revenue sank 13% to GBP64.0 million from GBP73.9 million, while Oils revenue advanced 5.2% to GBP78.6 million from GBP74.7 million.

"Excluding the contribution from recent acquisitions, underlying revenue trends remained broadly consistent with 2025, reflecting ongoing portfolio optimisation initiatives and deflationary trends," Princes said.

Drinks performance was impacted by the unwinding of the "exceptional" orange juice commodity price cycle from 2024 and early 2025, after the first quarter of 2025 was boosted by pricing adjustments after the decline in orange juice prices.

Princes expects this to progressively normalise over the coming quarters.

The firm said its first-quarter profit margin expansion was largely driven by the Italian segment.

Princes noted new product development initiatives in the segment. These include new pasta shapes for its Napolina brand, such as the tube-shaped macaroni known as cavatappi, which is the fastest growing pasta shape in the UK market.

Trading in the early part of the year has remained in line with management expectations, Princes said, as it noted improving trading trends entering the second quarter.

It expects further profitability improvement through 2026, helped by structural efficiency measures implemented during 2025.

Chief Executive Officer Simon Harrison said: "'Whilst the broader macro-economic environment remains uncertain, we remain confident in the resilience of the business and our ability to continue delivering profitable growth, strong cash generation and long-term value creation."

Shares in Princes Group were up 2.0% at 386.50 pence on Thursday morning in London.

By Michael Hennessey, Alliance News reporter

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