Farsons' board of directors is recommending a net interim dividend of €1 million (2017: €1 million) in respect of the financial year ending January 31, 2019, equivalent to 3c33 per share.
This will be paid on October 10 to ordinary shareholders as at September 26, the group said.
The group said the investments it carried out over the past decade yielded the improved results presented in the interim report for the six months ended July 31.
These investments generated an increased capability in meeting customer demands both in terms of quantity and diversification of products and packaging, which have benefited the results achieved.
While turnover exceeded €51 million, an increase of 4.1% over the same period last year, profit after tax from continuing operations amounted to €6.1 million, exceeding last year’s figure by 6.9%.
Farsons Group chief executive Norman Aquilina said the positive performance across all segments within the group yielded improved results also when compared to the robust results registered in previous years.
This, he said, was made possible following Farsons’ multi-million euro investment programme over the past decade that enabled the transformation of the brewery, kegging and packaging facilities, logistics centre and corporate offices.
Farsons would continue to invest in human resources, operational assets and innovation to ensure excellence in performance and further enhance its competitive position.
He said that, at the same time, it was evident that apart from experiencing increasingly varied consumer preferences and greater awareness about health, wellness and the environment, there were growing competitive pressures in all sectors.
Group chairman Louis A Farrugia reaffirmed the board’s focus on internationalising the business.
“We remain cautiously optimistic of the growth potential in both existing and new markets. The results for the first six months are indeed encouraging, notwithstanding the growing competitive and cost pressures, however the group is also realistically conscious that continuing to achieve growth at recent levels will be challenging given the competitive environment the group is operating in.”
Mr Farrugia said that the investment in the transformation of the Old Brewhouse into a visitor attraction centre and the creation of a micro-brewery which would enable more efficient product innovation were in their final stages of evaluation.