Fresh produce distributor Total Produce has reported a small rise in operating profits for 2014 after what it called a "robust performance".
Total Produce said its group revenues for the year rose by 1.1% to €2.667 billion from €2.638 billion while adjusted pre-tax profits slipped 3.3% to €51.2m from €52.9m.
Operating profits for the year to the end of December inched 0.1% higher to €47m from €46.9m the previous year.
The company has proposed a 6% increase in its final dividend to 1.763 cent per share. The total dividend for the year will amount to 2.403 cent, up 5.7% on 2013.
The company's chief executive Carl McCann said it actively continues to pursue further investment opportunities.
He said it is targeting adjusted earnings per share for 2015 in the range of 9.2 to 10.2 cent per share.
Total Produce successfully closed a number of acquisitions and investments last year with a total investment of over €22m.
It agreed a deal to buy the second 50% stake in All Seasons Fruit in the Netherlands, while it also bought a 45% interest in Eco Farms Investments Holdings in the US.
In December, it bought the trading assets of Gaspair Nutrition out of a US bankruptcy process and since the year ended, Total Produce acquired a 50% take in the Gambles Group, a fresh produce company based in Toronto.
It said it continues to actively pursue further investment opportunities in both new and existing markets.
Revenues in Total Produce's fresh produce division decreased by 1.7% to just over €3 billion. The previous year's results had included the results of Capespan Group which was sold in April 2013.
Adjusted earnings fell by 1.4% to €55.3m due to the effects of average price decreases, divestments and currency factors.
Revenues in its Healthfoods and Consumer products distribution rose by 5.7% to €120m due to the contribution of new business and bolt-on deals completed in the second half of the year.
