Glanbia shares up on 'good' first half

Shares in dairy and nutritional ingredients company Glanbia rose this morning after it said it was on course to meet full-year expectations after a “good” trading in the six months to June.

At midday, Glanbia shares were trading at €4.88, a rise of 5 per cent, having earlier risen by over 7.5 per cent.

Glanbia, which produces a third of Ireland's milk and cheese, said all units had performed "broadly in line with expectations in the year to June.

It said while global dairy prices and demand had weakened over the period, they remained above historical trends.

Glanbia said its food ingredients and nutrition unit had traded strongly during the first six months, particularly in the US and that a "significantly improved" profit contribution was expected from its international cheese joint ventures over the full year.

The company said its consumer foods division had managed to off-set cost increases for raw materials, leading to a margin recovery in that division.

Glanbia said it expects 2008 to see "double-digit growth" but did not specific on the amount.

Its Irish consumer foods business benefited from a recovery in profitability, while the domestic food ingredients unit had a better first half than in the same period
last year, according to the statement.

Davy analyst John O'Reilly said although the trading update had been as expected "it should be positively viewed and received".