Convenience food group Greencore has reported a strong first half to its trading year and said it was confident of further progress in the months and years ahead.
Group revenue for the 26 weeks to March 25 came in at £691.6m. That was up just over 8% as reported and up 7.5% when currency movements are taken into account.
Group operating profit was up by 8.5% to £43.5m.
The Irish-based company is now listed in London and reports in sterling.
Greencore said its board was proposing an interim dividend of 2.55 pence per share, up 6.25% on the same time the previous year.
The company said it remains committed to increasing the total dividend distribution for the financial year in line with the growth in adjusted earnings per share.
"Our strategy of focusing on the UK and US food to go markets is working well and we are continuing to invest in capacity and capability initiatives to support the substantial future growth pipeline," commented Greencore's chief executive Patrick Coveney.
"We are confident of further progress in the months and years ahead," he added.
Greencore said that revenues at its convenience foods division rose by 8.7% to £667.9m while operating profits were up 9.2% to £42.9m with growth in both the UK and US driven by food to go activity.
It said that the UK food to go business now represents over 40% of group revenue and comprises sandwiches, sushi and salads. Its sandwich category grew by 4.4% in the six month period, while the broader food to go market was up by 5.6%.
Greencore's prepared meals business, which now makes up 20% of group revenue, saw revenue growth of 1.6%. Within this, the chilled ready meals business grew by 1.7%, while the quiche market saw growth of 2.8% and chilled soup fell by 3.5%.
Its grocery business, which represents about 20% of group revenue, saw revenue growth of 1.7%. This growth was driven mainly by the cakes and desserts operations, while overall revenue in cooking sauces was lower due to price deflation.
The company's US convenience foods division makes up 15% of group revenue. During the six month period, revenues jumped by 17.3% on a reported basis and by 11.5% on a constant currency basis.
Meanwhile, revenue at the company's Ingredients and Property division fell by 5.6% to £23.7m while operating profits fell by 25% to £0.6m from £0.8m. The division now represents less than 5% of group revenue.
