Upmarket stove maker AGA Foodservice Group Plc said on Friday it was well positioned for further expansion, particularly in Ireland and France, as it posted an 11 percent rise in first half profit.

AGA said in a statement it made a pretax profit of 20.0 million pounds in the six months to end-June, on turnover up 21 percent to 273 million pounds. The interim dividend was raised 17 percent to 3.5 pence.