Property company Ashquay, based in Northern Ireland, has increased its operating profits to £1.58 million sterling (€2,507 million) for the six months to the end of September, up from £1.33 million (€2.11 million) for the same period last year.

Ashquay which is quoted on the Irish Stock Exchange, although its shares do not trade often, said its property investment portfolio had undergone major expansion during the period. It said it had bought investment property portfolio worth £11.89 million during the period.

Ashquay is developing a £4.5 million office and international communications centre in Cork. The 30,000 sq ft centre has been pre-let to the Merchants Group which specialises in outsourcing third party call centre and telemarketing work.

Last April, Ashquay sold the 35-acre Compass Distribution Park site in Dublin to Tesco for £8.75 million.

Ashquay chairman Mr Derek Tughan said the company's strategy would be to continue to focus on two areas: the development programme and the investment portfolio.

The company now has 47 properties valued at £45.6 million sterling in its portfolio, with net annual rental income of £3.9 million.