British packaging and office products company DS Smith Plc said first half pretax profit rose 17.5 percent, helped by strong volume and revenue growth in the recycled packaging business.

The company, which supplies recycled packaging for consumer goods and office products wholesaling business, said trading in the second half to date is progressing well, notwithstanding continued increases in input costs. The company's customers include: Procter & Gamble, Nestle and Cadbury’s.

We look forward to the remainder of the year with confidence, delivering in line with our expectations, chief executive Miles Roberts said.

For the half-year ended Oct. 31, pretax profit increased to 40.2 million pounds from 34.2 million pounds. Revenue rose 15.3 percent to 1.17 billion pounds ($1.85 billion), as packaging revenue grew nearly 25 percent.

The company, which recently acquired French packaging firm Otor for $314 million, raised its interim dividend by 33.3 percent to 2 pence.

Shares of the company, a FTSE-250 constituent, are trading 1.77 percent at 195.60 pence at 08:25 am GMT Thursday on the London Stock Exchange.

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