Profits take off at John Menzies

John Menzies overcame the disruption to flights caused by Iceland's volcanic ash cloud to double profits at its aviation services division in the first half of the year.

The company, which also runs a newspaper and magazine distribution business, said it benefited from a significant improvement in cargo volumes and a sizeable number of new ground-handling contract.

With group profits for the six months to 30 June up 46 per cent on an underlying basis at £19.3m, the Edinburgh-based company is on course to beat expectations for the full year. Shares in Menzies, one of Scotland's largest companies, rose by 6.5 per cent to 441p.

Profits in the aviation division jumped from £4m to £9.1m, and it was also boosted by demand for de-icing services following the cold start to the year in northern Europe. The division won 56 contracts and lost 16 in the first half.

Profits at Menzies Distribution, which handles about 5.5 million newspapers every day, rose 7 per cent to £14.5m. It said it benefited from new business gained from rival Dawson Holdings and strong demand for World Cup stickers.