John Menzies, which also distributes The Financial Times and The Independent in the UK, said it made a positive start to the year and was trading in line with its expectations.

Its Menzies Aviation unit reported a 31 percent jump in operating profit, making it the top profit contributor for the year.

The company also said it was looking to identify new markets for this unit, which counts Lufthansa (LHAG.DE), Emirates, and EasyJet (EZJ.L) as its customers.

January-December underlying pretax profit rose 25 percent to 56.4 million pounds. Turnover rose marginally to 2.01 billion pounds.

The company last year bought Media on the Move, which provides marketing and distribution services to airports and airlines, from Journey Group (JNYJ.L) to expand in the travel industry.

The Edinburgh, Scotland-based company started as a chain of newsagent shops but sold its retail operations in 1998 to focus on its distribution business.

The company raised its final dividend by 21 percent to 17 pence a share.

John Menzies' shares, which have gained 21 percent since the company forecast a 20 percent jump in full-year pretax profit in November, closed at 587 pence on Monday on the London Stock Exchange. (Reporting by Juhi Arora in Bangalore; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)

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