Irish fruit distributor Fyffes said today it planned to demerge its general produce and distribution business into a separately listed company.
Fyffes, which spun off its property interests earlier this year, has two distinct businesses - tropical produce and general produce. It said it believed the group was worth more as two separate entities.
The announcement came as Fyffes reported first-half results that were slightly better than expected. It made an adjusted pretax profit of €39.6 million, down from €76.1 million in the first half of 2005 but above the forecast of €37 to €39 million it gave earlier this year. Analysts had forecast a profit of €38.1 million .
Earnings per share, excluding exceptional items, amortisation and the group's tax share of its joint ventures and associates, fell to 7.96 cents from 15.10 cents a year ago. Revenue was little changed at €1.17 billion.
The group said its forecast for the full-year was unchanged. Fyffes warned in May its 2006 profit was likely to be €9 million lower than expected because of higher oil prices.