THE Wellington-based beauty and cosmetics manufacturer Swallowfield plc has announced a 44% increase in revenue to £39.7m from £27.5m for the first half of the financial year.

Half-year adjusted operating profits were up by 297% year-on-year to £2.54m from £0.64m following a number of successful product launches for global brands and strong owned brand sales, and a successful Christmas period.

The manufacturing side of the business, which remains focused on the development, formulation and production of quality products for many of the world’s leading brands, is performing robustly, underpinned by successful new product launches. In the period, Swallowfield developed 92 new products which will be found in major retailers worldwide.

The firm says Brand Architekts, a company which develops and supplies innovative brands to the nation’s top retailers, has now been successfully integrated within the Swallowfield Group.

All key brands within the portfolio have maintained strong growth, including a very successful Christmas gifting season for brands such as The Real Shaving Co. and Dirty Works.

Much work is also under way to advance the brands’ digital presence, including new website launches with e-commerce capability and engaging social media pages.

For the full story, see this week’s Wellington Weekly News.