Revenues rose to 3418.6 million from 3393.9 million for the same period in 2011.

Underlying revenues increased by five per cent and pre-tax profit rose by 21 per cent to 322.5 million compared to 318.5 million in 2011.

Cranswick's Chairman, Martin Davey, said: "It is pleasing to report continued growth in sales, in what continues to be a difficult economic and consumer environment, reflecting the ongoing popularity of pork with the consumer, driven by both the versatility and the low relative price of pork to other proteins.

"Kingston Foods has made an encouraging contribution to the Group since acquisition and has further extended Cranswick's customer portfolio and strengthened the Group's cooked meat production capability.

"Rising input costs were a feature of trading during the period and this has continued into the second half, although efficiency improvements brought about by investment undertaken by the business and ongoing constructive pricing discussions with customers have helped offset the full impact of this.

"The Board currently anticipates a more balanced trading performance between the first and second halves compared to last year when there was a strong second half bias. The strategy for the development of the business remains unchanged with future growth being generated by a combination of acquisitions and organic initiatives."