TREATT plc, the manufacturer and supplier of flavour and fragrance ingredients based in Bury St Edmunds, reported “an excellent” first-half trading with sales growing by 14% for the six months ended 31 March 2006.

TREATT plc, the manufacturer and supplier of flavour and fragrance ingredients based in Bury St Edmunds, reported “an excellent” first-half trading with sales growing by 14% for the six months ended 31 March 2006.

UK operator R C Treatt and Treatt USA, the company's American subsidiary, combined to achieve group pre-tax profit for the period of £1.6 million, up 26% on last year's first half, achieved on group turnover up by 18% to £17.3 million.

Sales grew across the broad product range and increasing prices in essential oil and aroma chemical products boosted profits. Margins also held up well in spite of the absence of last year's one-off gains from citrus oils, said Treatts, and the group had benefited from a slowly strengthening US dollar which moved by 9% compared to the same period last year.

Treatts in the UK said continuing process improvements from its new resource planning system and increasing commodity prices generally had contributed to its success in the first six months. The introduction of flexible employee contracts last year had also increased competitiveness, it said.

Edward Dawnay, Treatts chairman, said: “The Group has performed excellently over the last six months with both the UK and US subsidiaries replacing last year's one-off orange and grapefruit profits with strong sales growth across the Group's highly diversified product range.

“The prospects for the remainder of the year are good with Treatt USA expected to continue its growth and with Group profits in the second half expected, as usual, to be stronger than the first half.”