Revenue and earnings rise comfortably at Portmeirion

(Sharecast News) - Portmeirion Group announced its performance for the six months ended 30 June on Thursday, reporting an 11.4% improvement in revenue to £36.9m.The AIM-traded firm said profit before tax was ahead 29.1% to £2.1m, while EBITDA rose 13.9% to £3.1m.Earnings per share were 27.6% higher at 15.24p, with the board declaring an 8.1% rise in the interim dividend to 8.00p per share.Net debt reduced by £0.4m to £1.3m year-on-year.Operationally, Portmeirion said it made "good progress" on growth and diversification in export markets.It said its home fragrance division, which was acquired in 2016, delivered sales growth of 14.1%, while it also saw online sales growth of 13.5%.The board highlighted a number of "successful" new product launches during the period, including Sara Miller London Portmeirion and line extensions in Portmeirion Botanic Garden and Royal Worcester Wrendale Designs."We are delighted with our strong first half trading performance, which benefits from new product launches and further diversification into new markets," said non-executive chairman Dick Steele."Our strategy continues to deliver revenue and profit growth and we remain confident in our ability to meet full year market expectations."