NORTH YORKSHIRE ice-cream maker Richmond Foods has made a winter profit for the first time in its history as demand for tubs sold in supermarkets soared.

The group, which supplies Nestl products as well as its own brand, said it had benefited from the increasing popularity of take-home ice-cream.

The trend helped Richmond's like-for-like sales lift 11.9 per cent in the first half of its financial year.

Chief executive James Lambert said children were mainly driving demand for take-home ice cream and helped the market for the product grow 4.5 per cent over the year.

He said: "It's really a very easy dessert to make. If you have children you just whip it out of the freezer and dish it up."

Pre-tax profits were £2.1 million in the 26 weeks to March 28, compared with losses of £199,000 in the same period last year.

Updated: 09:57 Thursday, May 06, 2004