After-tax profit of Zwack Unicum, Hungary’s most famous spirits maker, rose 20.2% to HUF 894m in the first half of its business year started April 1 from the same period a year earlier as margins improved, the company’s IFRS report published late Thursday shows.

Revenue, excluding excise tax, rose 8.1% to HUF 6.11bn during the period.

Zwack said sales of quality products rose by 7%, while sales of premium and non-branded products edged down by 1% and 3%, respectively.

Export revenue reached HUF 599m, practically level with the base period.

Material costs were up 8.0% at HUF 2.68bn. Gross margin rose at about the same pace as revenue to HUF 3.43bn.

Total operating costs, however, increased just 5.0% to 2.82bn, contributing to a 12.1% rise in operating profit of HUF 1.01bn.

Zwack’s pre-tax profit was up 14.2% at HUF 1.16bn.

Zwack had total assets of HUF 13.77bn on September 30, up 2.7% from twelve months earlier. Net assets were unchanged at HUF 9.81bn.

Zwack’s management said in the report that they could only offer a “sound prognosis” for full-year results after the Christmas season, but added that “there could be an opportunity of accomplishing” the HUF 1.60bn after-tax profit target for the 2011/2012 business year in view of the H1 results.