After a major acquisition in the US, Irish food company Greencore has reported 22.5% increase in pre-tax profit for the six months to the end of March.
The half year results show the London-listed Greencore made £44.7m profit on revenue of over £1 billion. Revenue for the six month period was up 46%.
Chief executive Patrick Coveney said the half year had been a transformational period for Greencore after it bought Peacock Foods in the US.
Peacock Foods is a fast growing US convenience foods manufacturer which generated about $1 billion in revenues last year. It has long term contracts to supply some of the biggest foods brands in the US.
The deal with Peacock gave Greencore a growth platform of real scale in the US, Mr Coveney said.
Apart from the impact of the deal, Greencore also reported strong underlying growth in its key European market, the UK.
The company today announced an interim dividend of 2.10 pence per share, which it said represented a pay-out amount of £14.8m or 39.2% of its adjusted earnings.
The company's Convenience Foods UK and Ireland division saw revenues rise by 16.1% to £685.7m while the division's operating profits was fairly flat at £46.8m.
Revenues in its Convenience Foods US division soared by 220.8% to £324.6m after that Peacock Foods deal, while operating profits rose to £8.5m from a loss of £3.2m the same time last year.
Greencore also said today that it continues to closely monitor the potential implications of Brexit on its business.
"Although the impacts are far from certain at this stage, it is worth noting that Greencore's business in the UK is 'local', ie made and sold in the UK, and therefore carries less trade risk. Critically, the group is focusing on the stability of its workforce in order to ensure that it continues to meet the labour needs of a growing business," the company added.
Looking forward, the company said that it remains confident in its ability to deliver a performance in line with market expectations for the full year.
"The enhanced capabilities, product offerings, and customer relationships that have been added to the group in a short space of time, combined with the strength of our underlying business, mean that we are confident of making further progress in FY17 and beyond," Mr Coveney said.
Greencore shares jumped 7.26% in London trade today.
