HOUSEHOLD products manufacturer McBride has seen sales rise but profits dip.

The firm, which employs almost 300 at its Burnley factory, made £16.7 million operating profit on sales of £248.4 million in the last six months of 1998, up by six per cent on the same period in 1997.

McBride, which is Europe's leading manufacturer of supermarket own label products such as detergent and washing up liquid, said the future for the group was sound.

Trading conditions will remain challenging, warned chief executive Mike Handley.

But he said a rationalisation programme announced by the company last year would help reduce costs significantly.

"McBride's business remains sound and continues to benefit from new product development, significant investment and the continued support of our major retailer customers."

The group, headquartered in Beaconsfield, Buckinghamshire, employs 4,000 staff in the UK.

It supplies all of the UK's supermarkets and 17 of the top 20 supermarket chains in Europe.

Shareholders will receive an unchanged interim dividend of 2.5p.

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