Food group Origin Enterprises said it delivered a “solid” financial performance in the first half of its financial year, but that unseasonably wet weather over the winter had affected its British agri-services performance.

The company said the bad weather had led to lower winter crop plantings, but it expected increased activity in the spring.

Origin, in which Aryzta has a majority ownership, recorded a 16 per cent rise in adjusted fully diluted earnings per share to to 7.59 cents. The company cut its net debt to €178.7 million over the period and said it had made “significant progress on the transformation of its business.

Origin chief executive Tom O’Mahony said the group was on track to meet consensus forecasts for the year.

“Origin has delivered a solid operating and financial performance, recording a 16.2 per cent increase in adjusted earnings per share during the seasonally quiet first half of the financial year,” Mr O’Mahony said.

“We remain comfortable with full-year consensus expectations of adjusted fully diluted earnings per share of approximately 48.5 cent.”

Shares in Origin closed at 4.8 cents, down 4 per cent.