Dairy Crest Shares Jump

Shares in Dairy Crest Group Plc jumped 15% Friday following news of the sale of the company's 49% stake in Yoplait Dairy Crest Ltd., to its joint venture partner, the Yoplait group, for GBP 63.5 million.

The disposal will result in an exceptional profit of GBP 50 million, with no tax expected to be payable on the divestiture. The cash proceeds will be used to repay debt and significantly improve headroom against banking covenants, the company said.

Also providing a pre-close trading update for the year ending March 31, 2009, Dairy Crest reported that its trading performance for fiscal 2009 remains in line with expectations.