French processed meat group Fleury Michon has reported sales of €143.6 million for the first quarter of 2003, a 9.8 per cent increase on the same period a year earlier. The company had predicted growth of around 8 per cent.

Sales at the cooked meats division were up 11 per cent overall during the quarter to €81.8 million, helped by a 14 per cent increase in sales of pork and poultry meats. But it was a 58 per cent hike in sales of meal solutions which was the principal driver of growth in this division.

The company said that this growth - well in excess of the 6.5 per cent expected for the division over the year as a whole - was due to the success of new product launches and a major promotional campaign at the start of the year.

Fleury Michon's delicatessen business showed an 8.4 per cent rise in sales to €57.8 million, boosted by ready meals and by sales of surimi (crab sticks). Growth was nonetheless slightly lower than the 10 per cent predicted by the company, but Fleury Michon said it still expected to meet this target over the year after a packaging redesign, the launch of a number of new products and the extension of its range of ready meals.

There will also be significant marketing support for these new products in the second quarter of the year.

Commenting on the prospects for the year ahead, the company said it would continue to focus on meal solutions and ready meals - the fastest-growing segments of its business - as well as increasing investment in both innovative product development and in advertising.