Kenya's Unga Group half-year profit rises 59 pct

NAIROBI (Reuters) - Kenyan flour miller Unga Group Ltd posted a 59 percent jump in half-year profit before tax, mainly due to increased capacity brought by a new wheat mill and proceeds from the sale of its stake in a packaging firm, Bullpark Ltd. The miller said the weakening of the Kenyan and Ugandan shillings against the dollar resulted in foreign exchange related losses. "Manufacturing overheads and competitive pressure remained high," the company added in a statement. The consumer and animal food producer said profit before tax in the six months to the end of December climbed to 527.2 million shillings ($5.8 million) from a restated 330.7 million shillings the previous period. Turnover climbed to 9.7 billion shillings from 8.8 billion shillings. Operating profit also improved slightly, climbing to 409.8 million shillings from 293.5 million. Earnings per share jumped to 3.41 shillings from 1.96 shillings. The company's directors did not recommend an interim dividend. ($1 = 91.3000 Kenyan shillings)