Milling group Carr’s said its new Kirkcaldy flour mill was already boosting performance in its food division as it posted half-year results today.

The multinational group, with food, agriculture and engineering divisions, said profit before tax was up 2% to £10.1m year on year, as it reported its results for the six months ended 1 March 2014.

Chief executive officer Tim Davies described the Kirkcaldy mill, which came into operation in September, as “the world’s most technologically advanced flour mill”.

The new mill was already delivering both operational and commercial benefits and consolidated Carr’s position as the leading miller in Scotland, he said, “delivering a step-change in the financial performance of the food division.”

The mill had been commissioned on time and within budget as part of a focus “to invest for growth across each of our three divisions to deliver our strategic objectives.”  The mill was designed jointly by Carr’s and the Swiss engineering firm Bűhler.

Carr’s flour business has port-side mills located at Kirkcaldy in Fife and Silloth in Cumbria. This allows it to obtain wheat, transported by sea, from both the Continent and the UK, Davies said. With an improved UK wheat harvest in 2013, a significant amount of wheat was sourced from the UK, the company reported.

And despite the wet winter, the establishment of crops in autumn 2013 was excellent and it was expecting a larger harvest in 2014, it said. Carr’s continued to invest in flour technology to ensure operational efficiencies and service customer requirements, said Davies.

Carr’s offers a range of services including the manufacturing and supply of flour, robotic and remote handling equipment, and a UK network of rural stores. It has customers in 31 countries around the world.