Food group Glanbia says it has had a strong first half and has maintained its earnings forecast for the full year.
In a trading update, it positive global dairy markets had led to a good performance by its Dairy Ingredients Ireland division and a 'solid' performance in agri-business.
Glanbia also said growth had continued in its nutritionals business. It said its US cheese business was expected to deliver a satisfactory first-half performance despite lower volumes due to competitive pressures.
But Glanbia repeated that the environment for its consumer products business continued to be difficult due to weak consumer sentiment and higher costs. It also said it would take an €8m hit in its first-half results due to measures to reduce costs in the consumer products division.
Glanbia expects adjusted earnings per share to grow by 11% to 13% in 2011.
