Treatt hails record first-half revenues

In the six months to the end of March, revenue rose 14.6% to £76m, with a "strong" performance in the citrus segment and good momentum in China and coffee. Treatt said that pricing actions and cost discipline had allowed it to recover raw material inflation.

Profit before tax and exceptional items grew 15% to £7.3m and the company lifted its interim dividend by 2% to 2.55p a share.

Treatt cited "good momentum" into the second half and said it expects to report full-year profit before tax and exceptionals in line with the board’s expectations.

Chief executive Daemmon Reeve said: "We came into this financial year determined to continue pursuing the exciting growth opportunities available to Treatt with a focus on cost discipline and pricing initiatives to counter the inflationary backdrop. These actions have proved effective and we have achieved record sales for the period and a strong profit performance.

"We remain well-positioned to capitalise on prevailing trends in a resilient beverage market. We are winning new customers and deepening our relationships with our existing ones. This has led to a very strong performance in our higher margin citrus category, growth in China following its re-opening and we have also seen some good early wins in the exciting coffee market."