Cranswick is set for a strong Christmas following a robust performance in the first half of the year.

The UK food producer‘s adjusted profit soared to £99.6m in the 26 weeks to 28 September, an increase of 16.5% compared to £85.5m achieved in the first half of 2023.

Pre-tax profit inched up by 3.8% to £90.2m, while sales jumped 6.1% to £1.32bn, boosted by the performance of its core UK food business where sales rose 6.4%, underpinned by 7% volume growth.

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Cranswick chief executive Adam Couch praised the business for its “strong first half performance” and pointed to investments in its poultry and agriculture operations.

Couch said: “We have delivered another strong first half performance with good volume-led growth through capacity expansion and market share gains from close alignment to our key long-standing customers and a relentless focus on quality and industry leading service levels.

“We remain on track to deliver further progress in the second half of the year. Our Christmas order book is strong and demand for our innovative products remains high as the UK consumer continues to appreciate the quality, value and versatility of our core pork and poultry ranges.”