Shares in Agriterra jumped nearly 12% after the African beef and grain group reported bumper sales of corn stockpiled from last year' s harvest.

The former Sudanese oil prospecting company, which turned to agriculture in Mozambique last year, said that sales at its main processing operation, Deca, were "currently very strong and growing daily", chairman Phil Edmonds said.

The business was "regularly" selling corn to destinations some 600 miles away, the former England cricketer said.

The sales follow Deca's purchase of 35,000 tonnes of corn, filling its silos, which it intends to expand by a further 6,000 tonnes.

First revenues 

The purchases, as well as investments at its Mozbife cattle ranching business, were reflected in an after-tax losses of $2.05m for the June-to-November period, continuing a series of uninterrupted losses dating back to 2005.

The company only in November revealed its first revenues, after failing during its period as oil group White Nile to make any headway, against opposition from the government and French giant Total, towards exploiting its Sudanese site.

Revenues for the half year came in at $2.48m.

Agriterra said that its performance would be better judged with full-year results, which would better reflect the contribution from selling its corn as well as the costs of buying it.

Mr Edmonds flagged the "cyclical nature of the agricultural buying and processing industry", which saw grain bought by processors between May and September when sales were low, "building to the high sales months of November to May".

'Coming on well'

The results were viewed as "largely in line with expectations" by analysts at Ambrian, who added that "operationally, the company is coming on well".

Ambrian restated its "buy" recommendation on Agriterra stock, with a price target of 9.2p.

The shares closed 11.7% higher at 5.45p in London.