Fyffes has said it has had a positive start to the year and is increasing its 2011 target earnings before tax to €20m-€24m, from €17m-€22m previously.
In an interim management statement issued ahead of its AGM today, the company said that its full year result is expected to be significantly weighted to the seasonally stronger first six months, as happened in earlier years.
It said that profits in the first half are expected to be well ahead of the result achieved in the very difficult trading conditions in the same time last year.
Fyffes said it was seeing increases in selling prices in the banana category in the year to date, especially in Continental Europe.
It said the industry has experienced supply shortages in the early months of 2011, due to adverse weather conditions in production regions, and further cost inflation.
'The group's performance in the year to date has also benefitted from operational efficiencies, including the positive impact from significant investments in recent years,' the company said.
