Hi °C | Lo °C SHARES in Total Produce rose on Tuesday, after the fruit importer said pre-tax profits rose sharply in 2012.
For the year to the end of December, Total said earnings jumped 7.9pc to €37.1m on revenues that climbed more than 11pc to €2.8bn.
The total dividend for the year has been increased to 2.079c.
Company chairman Carl McCann said the company was “very pleased” with its performance during the year, and things had gone well so far in 2013.
“Trading conditions since the start of 2013 have been satisfactory.
“The Group’s activities are well diversified across Europe and, more recently in North America and Africa.
“[We] are targeting adjusted earnings per share for 2013 in the range of 8.0 to 8.8c.
“The group is pleased to report a 12pc increase in the final dividend which together with the interim dividend represents an overall increase of 10pc in the full year dividend. We continue to actively pursue further investment opportunities,” he said.
According to the company, trading conditions improved across the all the company’s divisions. Total produces fruit, vegetables and flowers, focused mainly on mainland Europe and the UK.
