Cargills posts impressive 1H results

Growth in operating profit 60 percent:

Cargills (Ceylon) PLC (CCP) recorded excellent first half results for the period ended September 30, 2009. In the first six months of the previous year, CCP accounted for a one-off income of Rs 73 Mn arising from the disposal of its quoted investments.

Excluding this one-off income, the growth in operating profit is an impressive 60 percent.

This growth which is a business growth in real terms is highly commendable as it was achieved in a period where inflationary pressures remained under check.

The Group has been successful in containing costs across the board and this too has contributed to the profit growth. The second half of the financial year has the added advantage of seasonal benefits and the Group is confident of outperforming the first half year results in the ensuing period. The company's brands Cargills Food City, Cargills Magic, Cargills Kist and KFC have achieved significant growth in their market shares.

The company also reports the declaration of an interim dividend payout of 30 cents per share on November 4, 2009 (Rs 67.2 million) which is the highest ever interim dividend declared to date.