Associated British Foods Plc (ABF) has reported a 5.0 per cent increase in pre-tax profit, taking company profits up to £282 million for the 24 weeks ended 1 March 2008.

The group also reported a rise in revenue of 15 per cent to £3,706 million. ABF also said that its interim dividend per share had gone up 4.0 per cent to 6.75 pence per share.

George Weston, chief executive of the group, said, These good results demonstrate that the group remains on track with strong growth from Grocery, Ingredients and Agriculture and another excellent performance from Primark. The development of our businesses continued apace, most notably with further substantial investment in Sugar and expansion at Primark.