Shares in Yorkshire-based pork and poultry producer Cranswick (CWK) leapt 280p or 6% to a new life-high just shy of £50 on Friday as the firm raised its outlook yet again following a better-than-expected second quarter.

Led for the last decade by chief executive Adam Couch, a Cranswick ‘lifer’, the company has expanded its production in recent years to serve UK supermarkets and ‘food-to-go’ clients as well as export markets, and has diversified into pet food to broaden its revenue base.

In its first-half update, the firm said demand since the end of the first quarter had been stronger than expected ‘underpinned by continued robust volume growth in our core UK food business’ and a positive ongoing contribution from its expanding pig farming operations.

As a result, first-half results are seen ahead of the same period last year and full-year profits are expected to be ‘towards the upper end’ of current forecasts of between £179 million and £192 million.

Despite a trend among younger consumers towards vegetarian and vegan diets, UK demand for Cranswick’s meat products remains healthy, although the company has begun to offer other products such as houmous in an effort to broaden its appeal. 

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