Devro, the Moodiesburn-based sausage skin maker, served up a rise in half-year profits after sales of its higher-margin “Select” range increased in developed markets such as Germany and Japan.
The FTSE 250 firm posted a 5.7 per cent in pre-tax profits to £20.2 million for the six months to 30 June, with improvements to its production process offsetting currency fluctuations and a rise in raw material costs.
Chief executive Peter Page told The Scotsman that he expects the rise in inflation to remain around the same level during the second-half of the year but that more-efficiency equipment in its factory meant it did not have to pass price rises on to its customers.
He added: “Last year we installed £15m worth of equipment at our Bellshill factory, for example, and this year has been about fine-tuning those production lines.”
Turnover rose by 7.7 per cent to £115.4m, boosted by higher sales in emerging markets such as Latin America.
Nicola Mallard, an analyst at house broker Investec Securities, said: “Volume growth was the key driver, with strong progress across the developing regions and also from ‘Select’, which is now 8 per cent of group revenue and helping to drive strong growth from some of the group’s more mature markets.”
