While Waterford Wedgwood's main driving force continues to be crystal, All-Clad, the US cookware company, acquired last year, is recording substantial growth. The group's interim results, to be published this morning, will show All Clad's sales at around €40 million (£31.5 million). In 1998, the year before it was acquired, it had annual sales of €57 million, so it appears the growth has been an effective 40 per cent.

This is in line with the high expectations expressed at the time of the acquisition. Waterford Wedgwood's target was to double the US company's sale in two years while maintaining the high operating margins of 18 per cent.

It paid a high price - $110 million (€122.6 million) or double historic sales - for All-Clad. But All-Clad which had insufficient capacity to meet demand has benefited from the group's management which streamlined production and this has substantially increased output. While All-Clad accounts for less than 10 per cent of the group's sales, it will be making a first time contribution in the first half and this should continue to grow.

Overall group sales rose by 34 per cent in the first quarter (this included a contribution from All-Clad) which would have benefited from restocking in January. There has been no sign of a break in the momentum in the second quarter. The growth of crystal and ceramic sales should have been in the high teens in the first half. Overall group sales should have grown by around one-third.

Morgan Stanley Dean Witter is projecting a 30 per cent rise in sales to €445 million in the first half. Operating profit is forecast to increase by 25 per cent to €26 million.

This morning's results will likely show that crystal is still carrying the ceramics operations in terms of profits. And ceramics is still a long way from achieving a 15 per cent return on sales. But Wedgwood had its rationalisation programme well before other ceramics companies and is better placed to benefit from any resurgence in the industry.

Rosenthal, the German porcelain company should benefit from the acquisition of Hutschenreuter porcelain company in Selb in Bavaria, though those benefits will not come through in the first half. Interestingly it is not acquiring the production facilities, so Rosenthal can produce Hutschenreuther's well-known table top porcelain and giftware which sells mostly on the German market.

The consideration has not been disclosed but will be revealed today. However, it is well below the speculated €25 million.