Barry Callebaut has reported a 5.3% increase in full-year opera-ting profit to 31 August 2008 and said it had continued to see good growth in the first two months of the current fiscal year. Profit rose to SFr341.1m (£184.7m), as sales increased by 17.3% to SFr4.8bn (£2.6bn).

According to the company, sales growth was "mostly due to higher volumes and higher raw material prices". Chief executive Patrick De Maeseneire said he was "satisfied" with the growth, which was in line with expectations. "These achievements, especially in the face of a challenging market environment, underline the effectiveness of our growth strategy," he said.