Agri-services group Origin Enterprises has reported a ''strong result'' in the seasonally important third quarter of the financial year.
In a trading update, the company said its performance was in line with expectations.
The company said that revenues for the nine months to the end of April eased to €959m from €983.5m.
Origin also pointed out that 85% of the its annual profits are now typically earned in the second half of the year to July 31.
The company said that third quarter revenues in its agri-services division rose by 22% to €451.6m while revenues for nine months rose by 2% to €959m from €939.3m.
The company said its interest in consumer foods and marine proteins and oils performed in line with expectations. It said that trading continues to remain challenging in its Valeo Foods Group division against the background of a ''fragile consumer environment''.
Welcon, its marine proteins and oils joint venture, saw lower profits and margins compared to last year due to a very strong performance in 2011.
Origin said the outlook for the final year of its financial year to the end of July remains positive. ''The group is comfortable with consensus market estimates for an adjusted fully diluted earnings per share of 44.5 cent'', the statement added..
