Acquisitions and currency effects boosted first-half figures from fresh food company Total Produce (TOT). Without these, revenues would have risen 2 per cent. The eurozone business benefited from recovering prices in some markets - an important factor given the oversupply that drove prices down in 2014 - with revenues up 4.7 per cent at €833m (£607m). The non-eurozone business, which includes the UK, saw revenues rise 5.4 per cent to €767m, aided by the weakness of the euro against sterling.
This performance prompted management to announce it would target the top end of the previously announced full-year EPS range of 9.2¢ to 10.2¢. Half-year operating profits only rose 0.8 per cent to €27.2m, but this was in part due to a €2.5m exceptional gain last year on an investment in African Blue, a blueberry grower in Morocco.