TRADITIONAL cooker maker Aga is blaming weaker US trading for a six per cent drop in half-year profits.

Aga Foodservice, in Solihull, includes TV Naked Chef Jamie Oliver, Rick Stein and US cookery guru Judy George among its army of devoted fans.

The firm said results were "satisfactory", despite a dip in profits.

Figures for the six months to June 30 showed pre-tax profits dipped to £10.9m, down from £11.6m for the same period last year.

Sales of Aga cookers reached 9,000 for the first time last year and the target of an extra 1,000 sales this year remains achievable, the firm said. To improve sales, a marketing campaign has been launched and two brochures have been produced - the Aga Address Book and Aga Foodservice Know-How.

The group employs 3,500 people in the UK and 1,000 overseas.