Geest is due to announce interim results tomorrow

Geest is due to announce interim results tomorrow

The revised rating was made a day ahead of the announcement of the interim results on September 11 and the firm was given an underperform rating down from an in-line rating ahead of the six-month figures.

The long hot summer is bound to have boosted the company's salad sales, but overall own-label suppliers are caught in a squeeze between retail customers and rising raw material costs. And Geest not only supplies salads but a range of over 1,000 other prepared lines such as pasta sauces and pizza bases. Goldman Sach's rating reduction is probably also influenced by last week's profit warning from Northern Foods.