Shares in Carr's Milling Industries jumped more than 5% to their highest since 2008 after the flour-to-feeds group forecast "appreciably higher" profits, helped by a pick-up in fertilizer sales.

Chris Holmes, the Carr's chief executive, credited sales of fertilizer and feed blocks as leading the group in a "good" trading performance in March, the start of the second half of its financial year.

With Carr's set to avoid a repeat of last year, when weak market conditions forced it to sell for a low price fertilizer stocks bought at relatively strong costs, pre-tax profits would be, in the second half, be "appreciably higher" year on year.

Mr Holmes also noted the prospects for expanding the company's range, saying the group was "encouraged" by early sales of its Crystalyx feed blocks in New Zealand.

The comments, which came as Carr's posted flat first-half results, helped the group's shares gain 5.2% to 510p in early deals in London, their best since November 2008.

Two becomes three 

The group's revenues fell by 7.6% to £161.3m in the first half, to February 27, depressed by the impact of herd cutbacks on feed demand in the US, and by a weak start to the year for fertilizers.

While good grazing conditions depressed UK feed sales at the start of the period, the snowy winter boosted sales of Caltech feed blocks later on.

Group earnings for the period rose by 2.3% to £3.95m.

Carr's also revealed it wants to pay three dividends a year, rather than two, to "benefit the cash flow of shareholders" and reduce the weighting of the last dividend, which tends to be three times a big as the interim payout.

The dividends would now be paid out in January, May and October.