Spike in pre-tax profits at Portmeirion

PRE-TAX profits at Staffordshire pottery group Portmeirion have climbed by 37% for the first half of 2011.

In its interim results for H1 2011, the Stoke-based company said profit before tax had risen to £1.4m from £1m in the same period last year.

Revenues of £22.3m are up slightly from £21.1m in 2010 while profit before tax and exceptional items are up by 15% to £1.4m.

Earnings per share have risen to 9.23p from 6.49p and interim dividend has been maintained at 3.9p per share.

It said today production volumes were up by 22% on the prior period and more than 500 new products had been launched in 2011.

Last month it was presented at Buckingham Palace with a Queen’s Award for International Trade. Its brands include Spode, Royal Worcester and Pimpernel.

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Non-executive chairman Dick Steele said: “This is another strong performance, improving on the record results of last year, and achieved despite challenging global conditions.

“We have made great progress in aligning the business for future growth and we are confident of the group’s prospects.”