Carbery Group, which is owned by four West Cork co-ops, has reported pre-tax profits of €5.3m for last year, up from €3.9m in 2002.
But the 2003 figure includes an exceptional profit of €800,000 on the sale of some of its stake in Roaring Water Bay Spirits Company, which produces the Boru range.
Roaring Water Bay merged with US drinks distributor Great Spirits Corp in December to form a new company called Castle Brands.
Turnover at Carbery rose by 1% to €169.4m, with the group saying that it tried to minimise milk price drops to farmers and suppliers against a background of 'very poor' cheese returns.
Carbery said that though cheese prices had improved slightly, the marketplace had become 'incredibly competitive'. But it said its ingredients business had performed solidly.
