Portmeirion enjoys strong first half

Portmeirion continued its strong run in the first six months of 2011 with further boosts in profit, sales and productivity.

The Stoke-on-Trent tabletop manufacturer saw pre-tax profits rise 37% to £1.4m from £1m in the same period last year. Sales were up 6% to £22.3m from £21.1m.

The company also increased production by 22%, and took on 17 more employees during the period.

Commenting on the results, 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.”