Northern Foods' new chief financial officer Andy Booker has taken his first helping of shares in the Goodfella's pizza maker, spending more than £100,000.
Booker, whose move to the Leeds-based group was announced last month, bought 200,000 shares at 53.7p a time. He was previously European finance director at Japan Tobacco International, the owner of UK cigarette maker Gallaher
His purchase comes soon after Northern Foods said currency moves and pension credit changes knocked 16% off pre-tax profits in the first half.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE
Get 6 issues free
Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Profit before tax for the 26 weeks ended 27 September fell to £16.9m from £20.1m a year earlier despite a 6.8% increase in revenue to £468.6m. Revenue excluding the impact of currency translation and acquisitions rose 3.8%.
"We remain confident of maintaining good progress throughout the balance of our financial year, whilst sharing the widely publicised uncertainty around consumer spending over the Christmas period," said chief executive Stefan Barden.
The firm said it hiked prices to fully recover a £25m increase in commodity costs during the period.
Shares in Northern Foods are down by nearly 50% on the year. They took a sharp downward turn in September, in line with the turmoil that has plagued markets generally.
Aside from Goodfella's pizza, Northern Foods is behind Fox's biscuits, Grassington's vegetarian snacks and Holland's pies.
Top Director Buys
European Goldfields Limited (EGU)
Director name: Mr Dimitrios Koutras
Amount purchased: 1,684,641 @ 81.00p
Value: £1,364,559
Symphony International Holdings (SIHL)
Director name: Mr Anil Thadani
Amount purchased: 500,000 @ $0.45
Value: $225,000
SDL International (SDL)
Director name: Mr Mark J Lancaster
Amount purchased: 96,250 @ 219.00p
Value: £210,788
Northern Foods (NFDS)
Director name: Mr Andrew Booker
Amount purchased: 200,000 @ 53.70p
Value: £107,400
SDL International (SDL)
Director name: Mr John Hunter
Amount purchased: 28,750 @ 219.00p
Value: £62,962
Safestore (SAFE)
Director name: Mr Stephen Williams
Amount purchased: 100,000 @ 58.00p
Value: £58,000
Safestore (SAFE)
Director name: Mr Richard Grainger
Amount purchased: 80,000 @ 58.00p
Value: £46,400
Centamin Egypt (CEY)
Director name: Mr Colin Cowden
Amount purchased: 50,000 @ 26.93p
Value: £13,465
Latchways (LTC)
Director name: Mr Paul Hearson
Amount purchased: 4,400 @ 670.00p
Value: £29,480
Smurfit Kappa Group (SKG)
Director name: Ms Rosemary P Thorne
Amount purchased: 10,000 @ € 1.94
Value: € 19,400
Top Director Sells
Dimension Data Holdings (DDT)
Director name: Mr Jeremy Ord
Amount sold: 129,000 @ 33.00p
Value: £42,570
Dimension Data Holdings (DDT)
Director name: Mr Brett Dawson
Amount sold: 129,000 @ 33.00p
Value: £42,570
Dimension Data Holdings (DDT)
Director name: Mr Stephen Joubert
Amount sold: 75,900 @ 33.00p
Value: £25,047
Dimension Data Holdings (DDT)
Director name: Mr David Sherriffs
Amount sold: 57,900 @ 33.00p
Value: £19,107
Dimension Data Holdings (DDT)
Director name: Mr Patrick Quarmby
Amount sold: 46,500 @ 33.00p
Value: £15,345
8 of the best houses for sale with tennis courts
Review: Eden Roc Cap Cana – fun, sun and golf in the Caribbean
