Drinks group C&C has reported operating profits of €65.6m for the six months to the end of August, down 2.7% on the same time last year.
Net revenues fell by 2% to €263.4m after a challenging trading environment in Ireland and the UK after poor summer weather and weak cider consumption.
Sales of both Magners and Bulmers fell over the first half of the year, but growth in sales of its Tennent's lager offset some of that decline.
Its international business continued to grow at an ''exciting pace'' with volumes increasing by over 50%.
Pre-tax profits, before exceptional items, for the six month period eased to €63.9m from €64.8m the same time last year.
C&C shares rose by over 7% on the Dublin stock exchange this morning, but fell back to a 3% increase by the afternoon.
C&C said it has proposed an interim dividend increase of 9% to four cent, which it said reflected balance sheet strength and cash flow generation.
The company also said that it has agreed to buy a US cider business in a deal valued at $305m. The company is called Vermont Hard Cider Company and its main cider brand is called Woodchuck. It has been growing sales volumes at more than 25% a year over the past couple of years.
C&C said the deal will be immediately earnings accretive and will be funded by the group's senior credit facilities and cash resources.
The company said the deal will enable it to participate further in the expected growth of the cider business in the US. C&C has exported Magners to the US for over ten years and it bought Hornsby's brand in 2011 as a first step in building a presence in domestic US cider.
Stephen Glancey, the company's group chief executive, said today's results demonstrate the resilience of the company's business model and were achieved against the backdrop of a very challenging trading and economic backdrop.
''We have a long history in the development of cider and are well positioned in terms of our brands and our expertise to benefit from the category's domestic and international development. In the short term, we are delighted to confirm a resilience performance in tough markets at the same time as laying some exciting foundations for accelerated international growth,'' he added.
Revenues and profits down at C&C's Irish division
Operating profits at its Irish division fell by 19.8% to €21.9m from €27.3m while revenues eased by 9.8% to €73.6m from €81.6m. C&C said the falls were due to a combination of declining volumes and increased promotional activity in the off-licence trade. The wettest summer in 50 years also affected sales. Bulmers volumes fell by 3.2% mainly due to lower pub consumption.
C&C said that operating profits at its UK division fell by 15.7% to €19.9m from €23.6m while revenues fell 18.4% to €82.6m from €105.1m. It said the cider market saw its first volume decline in almost a decade as poor weather depressed consumption.
Revenues at its Tennents's UK division rose by 2.2% to €121.3m from €118.7m while operating profits jumped 20% to €16.1m from €13.4m.
C&C said that revenues at its international division soared 40.8% to €23.8m from €16.9m. Operating profits rose by 10.5% to €4.2m from €3.8m as Hornsby's and Tennent's contributed to the volumes alongside Magners. The company noted that international volumes now account for 9% of total C&C branded volumes.
