Irish brewer C&C said its operating profit for the first half of the year increased by 66% as cider sales in the UK boomed.

The company said in a trading statement that operating profit for the first six months of 2006 was €113.5m (£76m), up from €68.4m for the same period in 2005.

The profit growth was driven by an 87% increase in revenue from cider from an 85% rise in sales.

Much of that came from its booming Magners brand, which C&C launched nationally at the beginning of the year. Volume growth for the drink, which had already been launched in Scotland and London, was up 264%, helped by the good weather in the summer.

"This is a brand-driven success story," said Brendan McGuiness, managing director of C&C's cider division. "We're replicating a well-proven formula that has worked well in Ireland."

C&C said it expected cider sales to produce an even stronger increase in profits in the second half of the year. "The cider division is the principal driver of C&C's earnings growth and its performance should lead to an acceleration in the rate of overall group operating profit growth for the second half," it said.