IRISH FOOD GROUP Glanbia has raised its earnings targets for 2011 on the back of an extremely profitable half year.

Announcing its financial results for the first six months of the year, Glanbia, which owns the Avonmore, Yoplait and Kilmeaden brands, said its revenues are up 33.2 per cent to €1.38 billion.

The jump in revenues has been driven by strong global dairy markets and good demand in other sectors, such as nutritionals.

Demand for dairy products has increased in developing regions, said managing director John Moloney. The US dairy market has also picked up since the first half of 2010, he explained.

Operating profit grew44.2 per cent in the six-month period. Last year’s half year operating profit of €66.3m was eclipsed by the comparative figure for this year of €95.6m.

The board decided to pay a dividend per share of 3.33 cent, marking a 10 per cent jump on previous payouts.

The food group are hugely confident as it heads into the second half of its financial year. Moloney told investors:

The calibre of our first half performance, leading market positions and strength of our global portfolio, positions Glanbia strongly for the full year. We are upgrading our 2011 guidance today to 18-20 per cent growth in adjusted earnings per share, on a constant currency basis.

The new forecast is up substantially from the previous prediction of 11-13 per cent growth.

Shares in the company have risen in value on the news. At 11.33 am, stock was trading on the ISEQ at €4.25, up 4.83 per cent.

Yesterday, the Central Statistics Office noted the health of the agri-food business in Ireland, reporting a significant rise in the exporting of dairy goods from Ireland.

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