Total Produce, the fruit and vegetable distributor spun off by Fyffes, today posted a 14 per cent rise in first-half profit after takeovers and joint ventures bolstered sales.
Net income climbed to €12.7 million, or 3.61 cents a share, from €11.2 million, or 3.18 cents, a year earlier, the Dublin-based company said today in a Regulatory News Service statement.
Sales advanced 6.1 per cent to €1.29 billion including its share of joint ventures.
Total Produce invested about 47 million euros in takeovers and ventures last year and took control this week of two Dutch tomato and cucumber growers.
The larger scale will give the company more scope to pare costs as higher commodity prices boost expenses across the industry at a pace that Chiquita Brands International called "unprecedented" in July.
Bloomberg